Sixers Bell Ringer: Another ho-hum dominant effort for Joel Embiid and the Sixers in Houston

Sixers Bell Ringer regular season standings:

Joel Embiid: 12
Tyrese Maxey: 9
Seth Curry: 8
Tobias Harris: 3
Andre Drummond: 3
Furkan Korkmaz: 1
Charles Bassey: 1
Matisse Thybulle: 1

Philadelphia fans could get used to this. For the seventh straight game, the Sixers emerged victorious, declining to play with their food and forcefully taking care of business against the lowly Houston Rockets. Doc Rivers’ club jumped on Houston from the jump, scoring 36 points in the opening frame and outscoring the Rockets in each quarter on their way to a convincing 111-91 win. Joel Embiid was able to rest for the entire fourth quarter and the deep bench got plenty of garbage-time run. You couldn’t ask for much more in a road tilt. Let’s talk Bell Ringer.

Joel Embiid: 31 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 2 turnovers

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For the second time in as many weeks, Joel Embiid hosted a masterclass against the Houston Rockets. Daniel Theis is going to be haunted by the mere mention of Joel’s name for many years to come. The Sixers big man scored over, around, or through Theis like a hot knife through butter. Embiid scored 17 points in the first quarter, tying his season-high for his most points in any quarter. He finished 13-of-13 at the foul line for the game, as you could routinely see Theis arguing with the ref immediately after hanging on Joel’s arm on the way up. Because the big man honestly does it all now, Embiid was finding teammates in the half court, leading the break in transition, and anchoring the defense. If this game had necessitated his participation in the fourth, we could plausibly be talking about Joel putting up a 40-point triple-double. As it was, he became the first Sixer in franchise history to score at least 30 points in nine straight road games. That’s more than Allen Iverson ever had, more than Wilt Chamberlain. Enjoy this man, Sixers fans.

Andre Drummond: 13 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 2 turnovers

Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images

The highest compliment I can offer Andre Drummond’s performance tonight was that I wasn’t the least bit worried or upset when Embiid headed to the bench. Andre was excellent on both ends of the court right from the start, rejecting Christian Wood out-of-bounds immediately upon checking into the game. He brought energy on both ends, working the offensive glass for five o-boards and bullying his way into former teammate Wood for some forceful buckets underneath. Drummond does the little things, like sealing his man to allow a teammate to drive unimpeded to the rim. He also had one of his Point Dre movements, directing traffic up top and hitting Isaiah Joe on a backdoor cut for the lay-in. It was a nearly flawless tag team effort from the Sixers’ big men.

Matisse Thybulle: 10 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals, 0 turnovers

Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images

Bit by bit, Matisse is finding his footing on the offensive end to round out his overall contributions. Embiid joked the other night about Thybulle needing to just shoot the ball, and Matisse looked to have the quicker trigger tonight, making two of his five three-point attempts. That pair is also forming a terrific connection with Matisse in the dunker’s spot, as Embiid hit a cutting Thybulle for yet another bucket out of that alignment. It was a very productive night on that end of the court for Matisse, which was still the weaker side because he remains an earth-shatteringly disruptive presence on the defensive end. He had three more steals, affected a handful of shots, and simply terrorized the opposition from all angles, appearing out of nowhere in the blink of an eye. I love watching this young man play defense.