Sixers Bell Ringer: Embiid, Maxey, Melton trio steps up as Sixers crush Nets

Bell Ringer Season Totals:

Tyrese Maxey - 5

Joel Embiid - 2

Tobias Harris - 2

Kelly Oubre Jr. - 1

De’Anthony Melton - 1

Jaden Springer - 1

The Philadelphia 76ers dominated the Brooklyn Nets 121-99 on the back of excellent performances from Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and De’Anthony Melton in Sunday’s matinee in New York.

After a slow start for Brooklyn plagued by some poor shooting, the Sixers jumped out to a quick lead but the Nets were just as quick to chip away at it. By time the second frame rolled around, this was a close affair, with Brooklyn pushing for the lead on the back of Mikal Bridges, who at times was making it look too easy against the Sixers. An 15-0 Sixers run late in the second led to a 12-point Philadelphia lead at halftime. Embiid led the way for the Sixers, as he does, with a casual 22 points, eight rebounds and five assists in the first half.

The shots finally started falling across the board for the Sixers in the third as turnovers continued to be a problem for the Nets. Philadelphia amassed an over-20 point lead by the middle of the frame thanks in part to a quick trio of triples from Tyrese Maxey.

The lopsided third ultimately decided things in Brooklyn on Sunday, with the Nets never able to stage a comeback. Embiid was even able to rest the entirety of the fourth as the Sixers went on to win in Brooklyn.

The Sixers will be back home on Tuesday to wrap up group play in the In-Season Tournament against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Until then, let’s get to the Bell Ringer.

Joel Embiid: 32 points, 12 rebounds, 9 assists, 1 block, 1 turnover

Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images

Embiid had been questionable the past few games and had looked a bit worse for wear for that brief stretch before coming out firing on all cylinders against Atlanta on Friday night. Well, going by that performance and now today’s, I’d say the big man is feeling a bit better.

Embiid put up 13 first-period points and looked good doing it. His elite footwork was on display, spinning through defenders and utilizing the pump fake to draw fouls.

We also keep hammering home (and will again) how Embiid is developing as a playmaker. He’s not only finding his own opportunities but is creating them for his teammates. He had not only his own 22 first-half points, but he had five assists to help the Sixers to their double-digit halftime lead, including this impressive transition pass to D-Melt.

He went on to finish the Sunday matinee with nine assists to one turnover. He had amassed all nine assists without a turnover before committing an error late in the third.

With such a lopsided score, Embiid got the fourth off. He finished with 32 points, 12 rebounds, nine assists on one turnover and a block on Sunday. All in just under 32 minutes.

Tyrese Maxey: 25 points, 2 rebounds, 10 assists, 1 turnover

Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images

Maxey’s shots just weren’t falling for him in the first half on Sunday but that doesn’t mean he wasn’t a huge asset on offense. Now that Maxey is getting borderline the same defensive treatment from opponents as Embiid, with teams crashing in on him like they do the big man, it’s opening up the floor for the rest of the Sixers. And Maxey is finding them. In the first half, Maxey had 11 points of his own and eight assists on zero turnovers.

Then, his shots started falling. After starting the game 2-for-8 from the floor, Maxey went on a 5-for-9 run across the second and third periods, including four triples in that short time.

He tacked on a three from the logo in the fourth to cap off a successful matinee. He may have only shot 8-for-20 from the floor but was 6-for-11 from long range (and in some cases, VERY long range).

Maxey finished this one with 25 points, 10 assists, two rebounds and one turnover. It’s his fourth points-assists double-double of the season already.

De’Anthony Melton: 21 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assists, 3 steals, 1 turnover

Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images

There were a few murmurs of worry about Melton to start this season, and they were warranted at the time. In the first seven games of the campaign, Melton shot just 29.5 percent from the floor and 32.4 percent from beyond the arc, averaging 7.6 points per game. In the past five leading up to Sunday’s matinee, he made a turnaround, shooting 48.1 percent from the floor and 53.6 percent from three-point range, averaging 16 points per game in that stretch.

Melton continued the pattern Sunday afternoon. In his first period stint, Melt went 3 for 4 from the floor (2 of 3 from beyond the arc) with four defensive rebounds and an assist in the frame.

He wasn’t done there, he continued to pepper in some triples for the Sixers but also was extremely efficient in finishing his close range shots which sometimes seems to plague Melton. He was 4-for-4 on lay-ups, a huge improvement over how his driving looked to start this season.

Melton finished with 21 points on 80 percent field goal shooting (4-for-6 triples). He also had five rebounds, an assist and three steals, all with just one turnover.