Sixers Bell Ringer: James Harden’s triple-double paces Philadelphia to win

Sixers Bell Ringer regular season standings:

Joel Embiid: 26

Tyrese Maxey: 12

Seth Curry: 8

Tobias Harris: 4

Andre Drummond: 3

Matisse Thybulle: 2

Furkan Korkmaz: 1

Charles Bassey: 1

Paul Millsap: 1

James Harden: 1

For the second straight game, the Philadelphia 76ers’ Big Three of Joel Embiid, James Harden and Tyrese Maxey showcased an offensive clinic en route to a comfortable road victory. On Sunday, they combined for 87 points on 46 shots, leading Philadelphia to a 125-109 win over the New York Knicks. This team’s offense has looked stellar through two games. It’s time to talk Bell Ringer. Let’s get to it.

James Harden: 29 points, 16 assists, 10 rebounds, five steals

Whether it was in transition, out of the pick-and-roll or hunting isolation mismatches, Harden absolutely carved up the Knicks. He and Embiid continue to have encouraging early chemistry in ball-screens, and he aptly balanced downhill attacks with pull-up jumpers. His passing and scoring chops have revolutionized the offense. Everything is so much easier. New York had no answer and Harden’s pacing in the pick-and-roll was masterful.

While he wasn’t as good defensively as Friday, he still snagged five steals, put together a few other feisty on-ball sequences and positioned himself well in help numerous times. He also made history with his stat line.

Joel Embiid: 37 points, nine rebounds, four blocks, three assists

The co-star to Harden’s dominance was Embiid, who set a career-high in free throws made (23) and attempted (27). Both of New York’s centers fouled out and he successfully linked up with Harden on countless pick-and-rolls. He’s really showcased the benefits of his diversified scoring arsenal the last couple games and relied less on post-ups. For long stretches, he roamed off of Mitchel Robinson defensively to muck up possessions and clog the paint.

Late in the game, he contained Immanuel Quickley and Evan Fournier on separate switches for a couple authoritative rejections. He’s been on an especially great tear for a couple weeks now, even for his standards.

Tyrese Maxey: 21 points, seven rebounds, three assists, two steals

Through two games, the biggest beneficiary of Harden’s arrival has been Maxey. He’s scored 49 points on 30 shots and is feasting when he gets to attack defenses already in rotation. They’ve developed synergy in transition, where Maxey is dynamite as a play-finisher. His speed is simply overwhelming against defenders trying to play catch up and his intermediate touch heightens his prowess. Oh, and he’s still doing on-ball stuff like this:

He also nabbed two steals and bothered New York’s creators a few times as a perimeter stopper. Really good game for the second-year guard.