Sixers Bell Ringer: No electricity from the Sixers in largely listless loss to Thunder

Sixers Bell Ringer standings

Joel Embiid - 12
James Harden - 10
Tobias Harris - 5
Tyrese Maxey - 4
Shake Milton - 4
Paul Reed - 2
De’Anthony Melton - 1
Georges Niang - 1
Montrezl Harrell - 1

The Thunder came to Philadelphia with revenge on their minds for the New Year’s Eve beatdown the Sixers dropped on them in Oklahoma City. Although Philadelphia had a 13-0 run near the beginning of the second half to briefly take the lead, the Thunder exploded to take a 16-point advantage heading into the final frame. The Sixers didn’t completely keel over, fighting to bring the deficit back within single digits, but led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s 37 points, the Thunder left no doubt in a 133-114 win. Alas, Bell Ringer candidates.

James Harden: 24 points, 6 rebounds, 15 assists, 1 steal, 7 turnovers

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Usually more of the ammunitions supplier, Harden took on more of the sharpshooter role in this contest. He finished 5-of-10 from behind the arc, and also was fouled on a couple three-point attempts. With Embiid in foul trouble in the first half, James stepped up as the primary scorer, dropping 16 points before halftime to keep the Sixers within striking distance. The 15 assists were certainly nothing to sneeze at either; Harden had some terrific pocket passes to Embiid out of the pick-and-roll and a great bounce pass splitting the double team down low to Paul Reed. The seven turnovers were sloppy, however.

Joel Embiid: 30 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block, 3 turnovers

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Mired in foul trouble all night that was partially his own doing, Embiid was limited to fewer than 28 minutes against the Thunder. He also had a lot of plays where entry passes were just off the mark, and we’ll I’m generally quick to blame the Sixers’ coterie of terrible entry passers excluding Harden, it didn’t seem like Joel was sealing as aggressively as he might have. Embiid also had a period of time during the game where he was limping on the sore foot, so let’s think happy thoughts there. Still, he finished with 30 points, because he had a pulse and that’s what he does at this stage of his career. Embiid scored 12 points in the fourth quarter to try and lead the Sixers’ final comeback effort. Overall, he exploited the undersized Thunder to finish 10-of-10 at the foul line, and certainly had spurts of trying hard on defense, even if it was far from his best defensive effort. Joel’s block of an SGA dunk attempt was seismic.

Tyrese Maxey: 17 points, 2 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals, 3 turnovers

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This won’t go down among the best Tyrese Maxey performances of the season — an off 0-of-4 night from downtown will ensure that — but it sure is nice to see the young fella back out there doing his thing. I love to see him neck-and-neck with the defender in transition but his teammate knows to throw the bounce pass ahead of him because Tyrese has the extra turbo gear in him. Maxey had some pretty finishes around the rim, including one off a sweet spin move. His six assists tied his most since his return to the lineup, showing off his improving drive-and-dish game with the dime to Paul Reed below.