Sixers Bell Ringer: Tyrese Maxey catches fire, pushing Sixers over the Knicks

Sixers Bell Ringer standings

Joel Embiid - 16

James Harden - 15

Tyrese Maxey - 7

Tobias Harris - 5

Shake Milton - 4

Paul Reed - 2

De’Anthony Melton - 1

Georges Niang - 1

Montrezl Harrell - 1

Matisse Thybulle - 1

As all of you know, the Philadelphia 76ers have been struggling. They dropped two straight against the shorthanded Celtics and the Knicks. Thankfully, they redeemed themselves against New York, winning tonight’s game 119-108. The first half of this game was flat out ugly. The Sixers lagged behind the Knicks, and the defense was sloppy. It took Tyrese Maxey catching fire and Embiid’s offensive brilliance (more on both below) to squeak out a W in the second half. Let’s get to the Bell Ringer:

Joel Embiid: 35 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 77.8% shooting

The Sixers’ defense was lackluster at best tonight, but Embiid’s scorching offensive offset a lot of the defensive issues. Without Mitchell Robinson, the Knicks lacked any player to pose a serious threat. Isaiah Hartenstein did what he could, but Embiid simply overpowered him on multiple occasions. The midrange jumper was falling tonight, but Embiid didn’t settle, often getting to the rim. The assist numbers don’t stand out compared to his other stats, but he did an excellent job at generating some clean looks for the Sixers’ shooters. The Sixers needed every bit of Embiid’s offense, and he deserves credit for them securing the W.

James Harden: 20 points, 8 rebounds, 12 assists, 1 steal

Quite frankly, this was a rough individual offensive performance from Harden. His 20 points were the third most on the team, but it took 17 shots to get them. The main reason I’m putting Harden up as a Bell Ringer nominee is for his playmaking — which was easily his best aspect for this game. Even when he’s struggling, Harden puts big pressure on opposing defenses. He got Embiid, Georges Niang, Maxey, and company involved, which proved to be crucial down the stretch. Efficiency aside, you’ll take a line like this as a “bad” Harden game.

Tyrese Maxey: 27 points, 2 assists, 3 steals, 57.1% shooting

Tyrese Maxey has been in one of his worst slumps we’ve seen, and he was overdue for a performance like he had tonight. He started off well, scoring double digits in the first half. His biggest moment, however, came in the third quarter when he stole an inbounds pass, and hit a pull-up three. Up until that point, the Sixers and Knicks were trading baskets for the majority of the third quarter. That moment seemed to completely change the game, and was the main play that got them back in the game. I don’t love how the bench unit’s success is tied to Maxey, but it would be huge if he produce like the spark plug he was tonight. The law of averages suggests there will be more performances like he had tonight.

Honorable mention: Paul Reed

Bball Paul didn’t produce an eye-popping statline like the players above. He didn’t even take a shot — but I want to give him some shine. Reed played just under 10 minutes, finishing with four rebounds and two steals. Most importantly, he was a +4 in his time on the floor. He only fouled twice, and was serviceable in this game. There’s no reason they should go back to Trez moving forward. Keep Paul Reed out the mud.