Sixers Bell Ringer: Sixers Bring the Defense to Top Dallas

Sixers Bell Ringer Season Standings:

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

The Sixers locked all windows and doors tonight at home against the Dallas Mavericks, particularly in the second quarter when a 14-0 run broke the game open. Unlike some other wins recently, Philadelphia was able to maintain its large lead throughout the contest; the bench closed out the entire fourth quarter with no player logging more than 32 minutes on the evening. The only bad news from the 111-97 victory was Tobias Harris leaving the game with a bruised knee. Cross your fingers while we choose a Bell Ringer.

Ben Simmons: 15 points, 3 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 0 turnovers

Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images

Yes, Ben did his usual playmaking offensively, assisting on four more 3-pointers. And he continued his refocused mentality in scoring the ball himself. I love Villanova great Jalen Brunson, but there was one play where Simmons bumped Jalen back to the Main Line before hammering it home. But we need to talk about Simmons’ defensive work putting golden boy Luka Doncic in a straightjacket. By my count, five of Luka’s seven turnovers came courtesy of Ben being long and active all up in Doncic’s personal space. Sure, Luka’s 19 points on 6-of-13 shooting isn’t the worst line in the world by any stretch. However, a couple of his makes came against another defensive assignment, and countless possessions ended with something other than a Luka shot attempt because Simmons made Doncic shooting the ball a completely unreasonable proposition.

Seth Curry: 15 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals, 1 block, 1 turnover

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Seth played like a man intent on letting his former employer know they made a mistake in trading him away. I mean, (ahem):

Curry shot 6-of-9 from the field, with a perfect 3-of-3 mark from downtown, including one long-range bomb from 27 feet. He also made a handful of excellent plays on the other end, ripping the ball out of Josh Richardson’s hands while on the ground on one occasion, a sequence that seemed scripted by the post-trade narrative gods. I have to imagine Daryl Morey lit up whatever his version of a victory cigar is after this game tonight.

Dwight Howard: 14 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 3 blocks, 3 turnovers

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Dwight hopped in the wayback machine tonight, going a perfect 6-of-6 from the field until he got greedy with a top-of-the-key 3-point attempt late in the game. Howard was a ball of energy on the offensive glass once again, collecting three more, and had some well-executed rim runs as the roll man. Best of all, he did it all while avoiding those stretches of getting completely out of control where he lets the elbows and moving screens fly. Dwight with the intensity dialed down to about 90 percent is a really helpful player.

Joel Embiid: 23 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 0 turnovers

Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images

Despite leading the game in scoring, it was a subpar night offensively for Embiid, who shot just 5-of-20 from the field. Of course, he got to the foul line as usual, shooting 11-of-12 from the charity stripe. And defensively, Joel was masterful. He played outstanding pick-and-roll defense, helping Ben bottle up Luka repeatedly, and his work as the last line of defense in the lane cut off more than one Maverick’s probing attack.