Sixers Bell Ringer: Philadelphia blows another big lead, Maxey’s fourth-quarter surge falls short

Sixers Bell Ringer regular season standings:

Joel Embiid: 35

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 to capture their 50th win and end their regular-season road slate on a positive note, the Philadelphia 76ers traveled northbound for a date with the Toronto Raptors. After racing out to a 17-2 lead, they allowed Toronto back in the game and lost control late in the third quarter. Toronto’s lead briefly grew to double-digits in the final frame, but a burst from Tyrese Maxey gave Philadelphia a chance to win. Ultimately, offensive rebounding and the brilliance of Pascal Siakam buried the Sixers, 119-114. It’s time to talk Bell Ringer. Let’s get to it.

Tyrese Maxey: 22 points, four assists, three rebounds, two steals, one block

Fresh off his three-point explosion from Tuesday, the second-year guard delighted again with 22 points on 7-of-11 shooting, including 4 of 5 beyond the arc. He connected on a pair of first-quarter triples, one of which came as he drifted to his left on the wing. The confidence in his outside jumper is staggeringly improved from his rookie season and seems to peaking ahead of the playoffs. In the third quarter, for his third long ball, he buried a step-back look. As Toronto’s lead swelled to 10 midway through the fourth, Maxey embarked on a personal 7-0 run via an and-one, a couple foul shots and midrange bucket. Although he was inconsistent defensively, he put together a few impressive possessions against Gary Trent Jr. — who was en fuego — and ended with a combined three steals and blocks. Maxey appears to have moved past his slump of late last month and is cooking these days. Thursday was no exception, despite the loss.

Danny Green: 18 points, five rebounds, four assists, one steal, one block

Making his first start since Feb. 15, Green poured in a season-high 18 points on a season-high six triples. Prior to Thursday, he hadn’t made more than four threes in a game and that happened one time this year, all the way back on Oct. 26. He knocked down a handful of contested threes, ripped through the net on a few and kept the ball moving when a shot wasn’t available. Defensively, his size, strength and understanding of angles flustered Pascal Siakam at times, even though Siakam still dominated all night. This was the Danny Green of last season and it was massively important in Matisse Thybulle’s absence.

Paul Reed: Five points, seven rebounds, one steal

Reed got the nod ahead of DeAndre Jordan for backup center minutes and immediately represented an upgrade. There were, of course, some growing pains. He turned it over after scooping up a loose ball instead of finding a guard for the outlet pass. He failed to promptly pick up his man, Precious Achiuwa, in early offense and it led to a foul near the hoop. He stumbled inside on a roll to the rim.

But after some early mishaps, Reed settled in. Both of his buckets came from putbacks. The dude really has an uncanny nose for the ball, tracking rebounds and timing his pursuits distinctly well. He’s light and graceful as a vertical athlete. His energy and activity, both on the glass and in general, were stark deviations from Jordan. Reed wasn’t perfect, yet he was solid in his minutes and that’s quite good, both for him and the Sixers.