Sixers Bell Ringer: Depleted Sixers outwork starry Nets for satisfying victory

Sixers regular season Bell Ringer standings:

Joel Embiid - 6
James Harden - 4
Tyrese Maxey- 3
Tobias Harris - 1
Georges Niang - 1
Shake Milton - 1

Much of the verve for Ben Simmons’ first game playing in front of the Philadelphia crowd since the trade was seemingly taken away with the injuries to Joel Embiid, James Harden, and Tyrese Maxey. The remaining Sixers had different ideas, however, playing one of their cleanest games of the year and absolutely outworking the full-strength Brooklyn Nets for a 115-106 victory. We have plenty of strong performances from our Sixers tonight to discuss for tonight’s Bell Ringer.

Paul Reed: 19 points, 10 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 blocks, 2 turnovers

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He’s not Patrick, Brian Anderson, he’s BBall Paul. Reed probably sold some sweatshirts with his outing tonight, which may have been his best at the NBA level. Paul completely outworked the Nets, grabbing five offensive boards, and was not afraid to go right at the rim against Brooklyn lineups with no interior defense. He finished the game 7-of-9 from the floor. Defensively, he showed off his switchability and mobility in guarding the perimeter, while also ably guarding the paint. Most impressively, he played 31 minutes and was only whistled for one personal foul. Just a much better job of bringing all his positives to the table without overextending himself or causing Doc Rivers even a hint of consternation.

Tobias Harris: 24 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 turnovers

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Tobi returned from missing some time with hip soreness and he looked bad to start this game. Then, he was writhing on the floor in agony very early in the second half and left the court with what looked like an ankle injury. But there was an M. Night-style plot twist, and not only did Harris return to action, but suddenly he looked rejuvenated. Tobias took advantage of small Brooklyn lineups with Joe Harris spending a lot of time on him as a power forward and bullied his way into a bunch of easy mid-range looks. It was a complete 180 from play off the ball, catch-and-shoot Tobias, as he led the team in field goal attempts with 21, making ten. The first half of the fourth quarter, Harris shifted back into closer mode from his days when he was making an All-Star team push. You could feel he wanted this one and his emotion helped carry the club.

De’Anthony Melton: 22 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, 1 block, 2 turnovers

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Melton is on a heater right now, one-upping his five-three night against Minnesota by hitting six of 11 from three in the win over Brooklyn. De’Anthony is just a winner, continuing to hound the opposition defensively and looking extremely confident in his shot. We were skeptical of a Melton-Milton backcourt with the injuries going on, but both Melton and Shake deserve a lot of credit for keeping the offense humming and the team only committing nine turnovers on the night. They’re more than treading water right now.

Georges Niang: 16 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block, 0 turnovers

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Niang shot 4-of-5 from behind the arc and dropped 16 points in just 18 minutes — great, super helpful stuff towards the victory. Georges primarily gets his spot here, though, because he dialed the intensity meter up to 11, non-stop chirping at the Nets all night, particularly Kevin Durant. When Niang scored on a drive and trash-talked in KD’s face, Durant couldn’t help but laugh along with the rest of us.