Sixers Bell Ringer: Sixers win ugly in overtime over Knicks

Note: There is no traditional recap post for this game.

Sixers Bell Ringer Season Standings:

Joel Embiid - 17
Tobias Harris - 9
Ben Simmons - 7
Shake Milton - 4
Matisse Thybulle - 2
Tyrese Maxey - 1
Dakota Mathias - 1
Furkan Korkmaz - 1

There are instant classics, and then there is whatever you want to call the 53 minutes of basketball we just watched between the Philadelphia 76ers and New York Knicks. In an absolute slog that saw that two teams tied at 64 after three quarters, the Sixers led by three points with Tobias Harris at the foul line in the closing seconds of regulation. Sadly for all those hoping the game would end, Tobi missed both shots, and Julius Randle somehow banked in a corner 3 (clanged widely off the rim back into the glass and in) to tie the game and keep basketball fans watching trapped in purgatory.

Then, the end of overtime was a hilarious mirror image of the end of regulation. With the Sixers down by one, Shake Milton missed a drive, only for Harris to get pushed in the back going for the offensive rebound. This time, Tobias would hit both free throws to put the Sixers back in front, and Julius Randle’s potential game-winning jumper went halfway down before spinning out. The Sixers prevailed, 101-100, and let’s select a Bell Ringer and then erase this game from the memory vaults.

Danny Green: 11 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 5 steals, 3 blocks, 2 turnovers

Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images

Call this the Danny Green “I’m too valuable to trade away at the deadline” game. Tonight was an exceptional Danny Green defensive performance, as you can guess from his eight stocks. He was draped all over Immanuel Quickley in the first quarter, and displayed his continued mastery of the weakside help block in rejecting Julius Randle. But we’ve seen Green put up big defensive stats in a game before. What we haven’t seen is Danny taking the ball off the dribble and hitting a one-legged runner with 19 seconds to left in regulation to make it a three-point game. Or him pump-faking with a man in his face and then still letting it fly from long-range not once, but twice in overtime to give the Sixers back the lead. Doc Rivers summed it up well after the game:

Shake Milton: 21 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 2 turnovers

Photo by Elsa/Getty Images

When the Knicks edged in front midway through the third quarter, it was the Sixers’ bench unit that put the team back into the driver’s seat, and Shake was at the wheel. He finished 9-of-15 from the floor, scoring seven straight Sixers point across the end of the third quarter and start of the fourth. The master of the mid-range hit his usual assortment of stepbacks and fadeaways, and also did a nice job getting to the rim, particularly on a smooth reverse lay-in around shot-blocker Mitchell Robinson in the fourth quarter. On a night the Sixers’ big guns didn’t have it on the offense end, Shake’s production was crucial.

Furkan Korkmaz: 12 points, 1 assist, 2 steals, 0 turnovers

Photo by Elsa/Getty Images

Korkmaz was the featured player in the Sixers’ 15-0 first-quarter run that proved useful when the Knicks went on a 13-0 run of their own to close the first half. Furkan hit three triples in the opening period, while also playing strong defense with a pair of deflections, and returning the favor to Ben Simmons for all the set-ups this season by lofting a perfect fast-break alley-oop to Ben.

Matisse Thybulle: 6 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 2 blocks, 0 turnovers

Photo by Elsa/Getty Images

I was surprised Matisse only played 18 minutes in this contest. He had a pair of savvy blocks on Alec Burks, recovering off the pick-and-roll to sway the former Sixer from behind. On the offensive end, Thybulle confidently took the shots that were presented to him, finishing 2-of-5 from behind the arc, with both makes coming in the fourth quarter. Matisse hit a huge shot from the wing with inside of two minutes remaining in regulation to put the Sixers up by four.