Sixers Bell Ringer: Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid lead Sixers to first win of the season

Bell Ringer Season Totals:
Tyrese Maxey - 1

After getting a moral victory in the opener against Milwaukee, the Philadelphia 76ers got a bona fide victory in the standings with a 114-107 win over the Raptors in Toronto. Trailing by three points at halftime, the Sixers started the second half on a 15-2 run and wouldn’t look back from there, leading by at least multiple possessions for the rest of the game. Nick Nurse won round one of the breakup with his former club, and the Sixers at 1-1 will head back to Philadelphia for their home opener tomorrow night against Portland.

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Tyrese Maxey: 34 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 block, 1 turnover

On this exact date a year ago, Maxey went off for a career-high 44 points in this very same building. Tyrese may not have matched that scoring total tonight, but his performance was equally impressive. He shot 7-of-9 from behind the arc, draining high degree-of-difficulty shots off movement, and nailing 30-plus footers. A couple nights after seeing Dame Lillard doing those sort of things, Maxey decided he was every bit as up to the task. Three of those triples came in the first six minutes of the third quarter to help the Sixers take control of the contest. In addition to the increased cohesion between Tyrese and Joel Embiid in the two-man game, his ball-handling and change-of-pace action with the ball in his hands has also improved a lot. His splitting two defenders around half court and streaking to the basket generated an audible yelp in my living room.

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Joel Embiid: 34 points, 9 rebounds, 8 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 1 turnover

It was an much more efficient night from Joel than the opener, who shot 14-of-21 from the field, and crucially, had eight assists against just the single turnover. Embiid had the mid-range game working around the elbow, draining those bread-and-butter shots with ease. When the defense overcommitted to stop them, Joel utilizing some smooth euro steps and drives to the basket. His passing was also on point; two great finds of a cutting Kelly Oubre Jr under the hoop were crucial plays in the fourth quarter. To cap off his night, Joel had a huge block of Scottie Barnes with a minute left to extinguish any hope of a Raptors comeback.

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Kelly Oubre Jr.: 18 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals, 0 turnovers

Through two games , Kelly Oubre Jr. has been everything you could have possibly wanted out of a veteran minimum signing. Unlike Thursday night, Oubre didn’t have his outside shot working, missing all six of his three-point attempts, but he still found ways to be a helpful asset on the offensive end. K9 showed good instincts as an off-ball cutter and made some strong drives to the basket to finish around the rim and pick up a couple fouls. Defensively, Oubre has shown more effort and willingness on that end than he has in his previous NBA spots. So far, this looks like a man who wants a bigger contract next summer and the Sixers are reaping the benefits in the present.