Sixers Bell Ringer: Balanced effort powers Philadelphia past struggling Pistons

Sixers regular season Bell Ringer standings:

Joel Embiid- 9

James Harden- 6

Shake Milton- 4

Tyrese Maxey- 3

Tobias Harris- 3

Paul Reed- 2

De’Anthony Melton- 1

Georges Niang- 1

The Philadelphia 76ers extended their season-long winning streak to six games with a comfortable victory over the Detroit Pistons, 113-93. They led from the 6:40 mark of the first quarter onward and won every quarter. Wednesday represented one of the more well-rounded team performances of the season and helped Philadelphia move to 18-12 on the year. The Bell Ringer space is usually reserved for the stars, but the role players deserve their shine, so they’ll get it after this one. It’s time to talk Bell Ringer. Let’s get to it.

Tobias Harris: 17 points, four rebounds, one assist, one steal

Had it not been for early foul trouble, Harris’ line might’ve looked a whole lot gaudier. He leaped out of the gates with eight of the Sixers’ first 12 points, but picked up two fouls before the midpoint of the frame. His third foul came early in his second-quarter stint, so the veteran swingman was relegated to seven minutes before intermission and 21 minutes in total. When he did play, however, he continued to light it up as a scorer. He went 2-of-4 beyond the arc, bullied mismatches and filled the lane well in transition. Over the last two games, he’s produced 38 points on 18 shots, good for 94.1 percent true shooting. He’s really in a groove these days and giving the Sixers that vital complementary scoring alongside their stars.

P.J. Tucker: Zero points, 10 rebounds, one steal

There have been absolutely been nights this year where Tucker’s scoreless showing outweighs his stout defense and other avenues of subtle impact. Wednesday was not among them. He was tremendous defensively. Bojan Bogdanovic struggled mightily to find space off the Veer actions Detroit loves to run for him. Tucker routinely denied him the ball to limit space. When he wasn’t flustering the Croatian sharpshooter, he was rotating well, providing help on drives and mucking up events inside. His five offensive rebounds and general physicality on the defensive glass provided boosts as well. The Sixers’ defense was cohesive and highly effective, in large part because of Tucker’s versatile contributions.

Montrezl Harrell: 10 points, one rebound

At times this season, Harrell hasn’t converted the easy looks he’s handed around the rim and it’s really hamstrung Philadelphia’s non-Joel Embiid minutes. In this one, Harrell did convert them, including six in the opening period to keep the Sixers’ plus-minus at zero while their star center rested. As a whole, the bench fared quite well and ensured the starters didn’t have to fire on all cylinders constantly. Harrell displayed synergy with Harden and his play-finishing brought a spark.

Matisse Thybulle: Six points, two steals, one assist

Across a four-minute span in the first half, Thybulle recorded all of his counting stats. He tossed a well-placed lob to Harrell for a slam, snagged two takeaways by lurking in the backcourt and canned three buckets around the rim, one of which was an impressive finish through contact following one of his steals. Another score occurred after he altered a Jaden Ivey pull-up triple as well. Much like his bench counterpart in Harrell, he gave the reserve group some pizazz.

Also, shout out to Shake Milton, who was, once again, good in this one, as he’s been for a while now. The dude is rolling and has adapted well to an off-ball role with Harden back in the fold.

You can listen to Jas Kang, and I discuss Philly’s win and our thoughts on the six-game winning streak on the latest episode of The 30 podcast below: