Sixers Bell Ringer: Sixers earn the Tampa split with 109-102 win over the Raptors

Note: No traditional recap post for tonight’s game.

Sixers Bell Ringer Season Standings:

Joel Embiid - 14
Ben Simmons - 6
Tobias Harris - 5
Shake Milton - 3
Tyrese Maxey - 1
Dakota Mathias - 1
Matisse Thybulle - 1

A scorching-hot first quarter gave the Sixers a quick 19-point advantage, and although they tried to let Toronto back into the game late via some boneheaded turnovers, Philadelphia ultimately hung on for the 109-102 victory. As my LB colleague Dan Volpone pointed out on Twitter, it was the first game Philadelphia made more 3s than their opponent (17 to 11 tonight) since the Lakers win on January 27. Here are your Bell Ringer candidates:

Tobias Harris: 23 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 1 turnover

Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images

While it’s not quite as though All-Star voters will be haunted by Tobi’s omission from the team after this performance, the Almost-Star was instrumental in the Sixers’ victory. Harris closed out the win in the fourth quarter, dropping 12 of his team-high 23 points in the final frame. He finished 8-of-12 from the field and 3-of-4 from downtown, continuing to hover right around that incredibly impressive 50/40/90 line. I didn’t feel it was outrageous that Tobias didn’t make the All-Star team; there were about 10 guys for two spots that all had legitimate cases. But the fact that this fan base is ready to go to bat for Harris now, after where the relationship was three months ago, shows what an incredible first half of the season he has put together.

Ben Simmons: 15 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 block, 3 turnovers

Photo by Scott Audette/NBAE via Getty Images

Ben celebrated his third All-Star selection with a strong, albeit not spectacular, performance on both sides of the ball. Simmons was the clear energy guy for the Sixers, tipping loose balls free to earn extra possessions and switching effectively across a number of different defensive assignments. He wasn’t the ultra-aggressive offensive attacker from last week, but he continued his excellent free throw shooting of late (5-of-6 tonight) and set his teammates up by finding them on cross-court skips or threading the needle in traffic.

Furkan Korkmaz: 19 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 turnover

Photo by Scott Audette/NBAE via Getty Images

Getting the start in place of an injured Seth Curry, Furkan made Doc Rivers look like a genius for the first 12 minutes. He shook off his previous cold spell to hit four first-quarter 3s for 16 points in the period. Although Korkmaz wasn’t as deadly the rest of the game, only connecting on one 3 after the first quarter, his early sharpshooting was the springboard for the Sixers’ success.

Matisse Thybulle: 7 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 blocks, 2 turnovers

Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images

As always, the defense was the star of the show with regard to Matisse. He blocked three different Raptors, with his rejections of Norman Powell earning a hilarious, “Testing Thybulle? How dare he!” from Marc Zumoff. Yes, you want Matisse to make more than one of his five 3-point attempts, but I liked his versatile flashes offensively tonight. He scored on a slithery drive down the middle of the lane, and attempted a ferocious baseline slam that Terence Davis just got a piece of to deny. A for effort in my gradebook, though, Matisse.