Sixers Bell Ringer: Oubre shines brighter than the Suns in Sixers’ win

Bell Ringer Season Totals:

Tyrese Maxey - 2

Joel Embiid - 1

Tobias Harris - 1

The Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Phoenix Suns 112-100 as their homestand continued Saturday afternoon.

The first half of this game was frankly just an ugly mess for both teams. The Sixers shot 44.2 percent from the floor with 12 turnovers, and the Suns 33.3 percent with six. No one could seem to get into any kind of groove offensively at all (except Kelly Oubre Jr. to a degree). A bit of a flurry of offense toward the end of the half tacked on some points for a riveting 52-45 Sixers’ lead at the half.

The Sixers led by double-digits for a chunk of the third period before the Suns battled back, ending the third within two points of the hosts. Midway through the final frame the Sixers built back a double-digit lead, even with Joel Embiid on the bench. The big man was able to rest the entirety of the fourth as the Sixers held and built on their lead.

Embiid led the way for the Sixers with a 26-point, 11-rebound double-double in just three frames (he was able to rest the fourth). Oubre was stellar throughout with 25 points and Tobias Harris and Tyrese Maxey tacked on a double-doubles of their own with 18 points and 10 rebounds, and 22 points and 10 assists, respectively.

The Sixers’ homestand continues when they host the Washington Wizards on Monday night.

In the meantime, let’s get to the Bell Ringer.

Kelly Oubre Jr.: 25 points, 3 rebounds, 1 block

Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images

I’ll admit, I was a bit nervous when Oubre was moved off the bench that his scoring impact would be lessened by the ball-commanding offense of Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid, but he’s continuing to prove that those worries were unwarranted. In his second start for the Sixers, Oubre got right back to work scoring five quick points (one triple) for the hosts. Two quick fouls saw him pulled early in the first, but he got right back to work in the second frame, sinking a contested jumper and showing off his athleticism with an alley-oop from Maxey in one quick sequence. He also put up a big time block on Jusuf Nurkic. He finished the first half with a game-leading 17 points on 7-for-10 field goal shooting.

And he didn’t slow down from there. He opened the third with a three for his third of the day on five attempts and slammed one home toward the end of the frame to take his total to 23 headed into the final period. Oubre finished this one with 25 points (three triples), three rebounds and a block.

Tobias Harris: 18 points. 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal

Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images

Tobias Harris continues to benefit from offensive aggression to start this young season, finding opportunities to get to the rim and either sink his shots or draw fouls... or both. Harris was pulled a bit early due to picking up two quick fouls, but continued where he left off later in the second, driving through defenders and finishing his shots. His finishing has been a highlight of his start to this season and that pattern continued in the first half of Saturday’s matinee with 12 points on 4-for-6 field goal shooting and 4-for-4 shooting from the line.

Harris slowed down a little in the third but provided a nice boost to the offense in the fourth as the Sixers rebuilt their lead. He ended up with a double-double Saturday with 18 points (on 70 percent field goal shooting) and 10 rebounds. He also had two assists and a steal.

Joel Embiid: (in three quarters) 26 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block, 0 thrusts

Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images

Like the rest of the Sixers, Embiid got off to a somewhat slow and sloppy start to this one. His shots weren’t falling and turnovers were an issue in the first half.

In the third frame, however, he started to look like the Embiid we know and love again. After a sleepy first half with just 11 points, the big man shot 6-for-9 (including an off-balance three as the period came to end) in the third to boost his total quickly to a team-leading 26-point, 11-rebound double-double headed into the final frame. With the Sixers building a comfortable lead, he was able to sit the entirety of the fourth.

He also did a little fake DX celebration. No thrusts and no fines today.

Shoutout

Tyrese Maxey

Wasn’t his best day shooting, especially early on in this one, but Maxey is looking more and more like an elite playmaker for this Sixers offense. Maxey ended up with 22 points of his own but had an even-more impressive 10 assists on Saturday and was a team-leading +25.

Happy birthday, king!