Sixers Bell Ringer: Joel Embiid, Tobias Harris each go for 30+ in narrow loss to Suns

Sixers Bell Ringer regular season standings:

Joel Embiid: 23

Tyrese Maxey: 11

Seth Curry: 8

Tobias Harris: 4

Andre Drummond: 3

Matisse Thybulle: 2

Furkan Korkmaz: 1

Charles Bassey: 1

The Philadelphia 76ers welcomed the NBA’s best to town Tuesday, when the Phoenix Suns strolled into Wells Fargo Center. Despite building a 14-point lead in the second half, they couldn’t hold on for a win. The defense faltered down the stretch, while the offense slowed to a grind (sound familiar in Sixers land?). Phoenix squeaked out a 114-109 win. It’s time to talk Bell Ringer. Let’s get to it.

Joel Embiid: 34 points, 12 rebounds, three assists, two steals

The big fella just continues to rain buckets, even against an excellent defender in Deandre Ayton. He was en fuego from midrange, had some zippy drives for buckets around the rim and prevented Phoenix from staying in zone defensively by working well in the high post. His defensive rotations were inconsistent (per usual, lately, though flashes of excellence persist). But he is absolutely dominant as a scorer these days and keyed Philadelphia’s surge right after halftime. This was another big-time game, which has become the norm, really.

Tobias Harris: 30 points, seven rebounds, three assists

Late in the first quarter, Phoenix embarked on a 13-5 run that gave it a 29-22 shortly before the end of the frame. Harris re-entered the game to open the second, where he scored 13 of his 30 points — including 11 in the first four minutes — and was vital to buoying the Sixers while Embiid rested. Throughout the night, he aggressively attacked the rim, connected with Andre Drummond for some two-man actions and applied his 6-foot-8 frame to carve out space on quality looks. This marks his third time over the last eight games scoring at least 30 points after doing so just once in the first 37 games. He’s in a groove right now.

Matisse Thybulle: Eight points, two blocks, one steal, one assist

Tasked with primarily guarding All-Star Devin Booker, Thybulle was particularly excellent in the first half, limiting Booker’s air space and ability to generate comfortable shots. He also gave Chris Paul some issues at times as well, and drilled both of his long balls. Getting hung up on screens and allowing a few back-door cuts, he was less effective in the second half, but still published some impactful sequences. Philadelphia’s perimeter defense is pretty lost without him. Tuesday, he generally showed why he’s so valuable.