Sixers Bell Ringer: Tyrese Maxey’s blistering fourth quarter not enough for second straight win

Sixers Bell Ringer regular season standings

Tyrese Maxey: 4

Seth Curry: 3

Tobias Harris: 3

Joel Embiid: 2

Andre Drummond: 2

Furkan Korkmaz: 1

Charles Bassey: 1

Searching for their 10th win of the season, the Philadelphia 76ers ventured to the Pacific Northwest for their second date in three weeks with the Portland Trail Blazers. After falling behind by as many as 18 late in the third, the Sixers stormed back to trim the deficit to two midway through the fourth. From there, Portland rattled off an 8-0 run and kept Philadelphia at bay to secure a win. It’s time to talk Bell Ringer. Let’s get to it.

Tyrese Maxey: 28 points, nine assists, three rebounds, two steals

Leading the fourth quarter charge was Maxey, who notched 15 of his 28 points in the final frame. During this surge, he drilled his lone triple of the game, converted numerous and versatile finishes inside the paint — including a nifty spin and score — and leveraged his pull-up gravity into a feed and free throws for Charles Bassey. He was tasked with chasing Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum much of the night, which proved to be arduous, but the dude just keeps balling. Whenever he senses the Sixers need scoring juice, he shifts into a leading role. His nine assists and free-throw attempts were also career-highs.

Tobias Harris: 28 points, eight rebounds, three assists

Joining Maxey to help compose more than half of Philadelphia’s 111 points was Harris, who routinely torched Robert Covington (and others) off the dribble for buckets as a driver. In the second half, he connected on a pair of quick-trigger long balls to keep the Sixers afloat. When the Blazers brought pressure or doubles, he struggled, and post-ups were not his forte. But he was a reliable source of offense, despite those flaws, and frequented his preferred spots on the floor with regularity.

Georges Niang: 15 points, four rebounds, two assists, one block

Following a string of quieter games, Niang returned to the form featured during much of Philadelphia’s six-game winning streak. He logged his ninth outing with at least three long-range bombs and fifth with at least 15 points. Naturally, the atypical, yet effective, drives were featured and he cooked beyond the arc. He moved well off the ball, and contributed an array of impactful defensive sequences, both as a primary assignment and in help. The man can play.