Sixers Bell Ringer: Joel Embiid dazzles to lead Philadelphia past shorthanded Cavaliers

Sixers Bell Ringer regular season standings:

Joel Embiid: 33

Tyrese Maxey: 16

Seth Curry: 8

Tobias Harris: 7

James Harden: 4

Andre Drummond: 3

Matisse Thybulle: 3

Furkan Korkmaz: 1

Charles Bassey: 1

Paul Millsap: 1

Aiming for a season sweep of the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Philadelphia 76ers traveled to Cleveland Sunday evening, chasing a second consecutive win. Despite a slow start, headlined by turnovers and sloppy execution offensively, Philadelphia snuck past a shorthanded Cavs squad for a 112-108 victory. Joel Embiid dominated for long stretches on both ends. James Harden struggled as a scorer, but was excellent as a passer. It’s time to talk Bell Ringer. Let’s get to it.

Joel Embiid: 44 points, 17 rebounds, five blocks, three assists

In his first three games against Cleveland this season, Embiid averaged 32-13-7 on 69 percent true shooting. He continued that dominance Sunday, even after opening 1 of 6 from the floor. Routinely overwhelming a shorthanded, ill-equipped Cavs front-court, he posted his 11th game of the year with at least 40 points and 10 rebounds. He and Harden enjoyed consistent success in the pick-and-roll, with the star point guard setting up Embiid for numerous quality looks. Moses Brown stood no chance against him, falling for various shot fakes and being outmuscled on face-up attempts.

Although he was late on a few help-side and ball-screen rotations defensively, he turned it up following halftime and really bothered Cleveland inside the paint. His five blocks tied a season-high from Feb. 11 against Oklahoma City. The activity level he operated with in the second half was excellent and covered for a quite few holes in Philadelphia’s perimeter defense.

As has been said many, many times this season, Embiid was sensational. He carried the Sixers to a win, mitigating poor outings from a handful of others. As such, he’s the only option for Bell Ringer.