Sixers Bell Ringer: Joel Embiid’s dominant performance leads Philly past Minnesota

Sixers Bell Ringer standings

Joel Embiid - 19

James Harden - 17

Tyrese Maxey - 11

Tobias Harris - 5

Shake Milton - 4

Paul Reed - 3

De’Anthony Melton - 1

Georges Niang - 1

Montrezl Harrell - 1

Matisse Thybulle - 1

Jalen McDaniels - 1

Wrapping up the end of five road games in seven days, the Philadelphia 76ers entered Target Center without James Harden to face the Minnesota Timberwolves. Despite Harden’s day off, the Sixers rode a superb Joel Embiid showing to dispatch Minnesota, 117-94. Embiid eviscerated the Timberwolves on both ends. Tyrese Maxey handled floor general duties quite well. Team-wide defensive rotations were sharp. It’s time to talk Bell Ringer. Let’s get to it.

Joel Embiid: 39 points, seven rebounds, four assists, three blocks, one steal

After Embiid capped off a 17-point first half with a dazzling stepback triple, the big fella went absolutely supernova in the third quarter. He scored 22 points, drilled a pair of pick-and-pop threes, drove from the perimeter for a bucket, and thrived in the mid-post and at the nail. It didn’t matter who Minnesota sent his way. Rudy Gobert, Kyle Anderson and Naz Reid all struggled mightily. He drew a bunch of free throws and comfortably found whatever shot he wanted.

Defensively, his pick-and-roll coverage posed substantial issues for Mike Conley, who much prefers to pass rather than shoot. Anthony Edwards also encountered some trouble operating inside the arc against him. When any Timberwolf attacked downhill, Embiid rotated punctually to wall off the rim. He was absolutely dominant and only needed 28 minutes to power this Sixers win. What a performance from Philadelphia’s MVP candidate.

Tyrese Maxey: 27 points, five assists, four rebounds, one steal, one block

Notching his fifth straight start, Maxey filled in admirably at point guard for Harden. His cadence in ball-screens maintained passing angles to Embiid and he didn’t dribble himself into precarious spots. When it was his time to score, his change of pace left Gobert and others in the dust on numerous instances. After Minnesota trimmed the deficit to 15 early in the fourth quarter, Maxey entered the game and scored or assisted on 11 consecutive points to push the lead back to 24. The third-year guard drilled 4 of 7 long balls, was 5 of 9 inside the arc and made a ton of sharp decisions as a lead ball-handler. His pressure at the point-of-attack also bothered Conley on occasion. Maxey continues to play excellent ball lately.

Embiid and Maxey were easily the stars of Tuesday’s win. Tobias Harris, Jalen McDaniels, P.J. Tucker and De’Anthony Melton, among others, all had their moments, but it’s hard to single out anyone else to join these two as a third Bell Ringer option. I felt like the entire defense was cohesive and well-positioned much of the night.

That’d be my third Bell Ringer: defensive execution. Minnesota’s offensive rating was 96.9 (seventh percentile), according to Cleaning The Glass. Kudos to a bunch of the rotation players around Embiid and Maxey who helped this blowout victory come to fruition.