Sixers Bell Ringer: Heat demolish Sixers in ugly contest

Sixers Bell Ringer standings

Joel Embiid - 27

James Harden - 18

Tyrese Maxey - 13

Tobias Harris - 5

Shake Milton - 4

Paul Reed - 4

De’Anthony Melton - 4

Georges Niang - 1

Montrezl Harrell - 1

Matisse Thybulle - 1

Jalen McDaniels - 1

The Philadelphia 76ers were destroyed 129-101 by the Miami Heat in their last home game of the regular season at the Wells Fargo Center.

The Sixers looked like a team already locked in to their seed for the playoffs, in the worst way possible. They committed four traveling violations and allowed the Heat 41 points (six triples) in the first frame. The visitors led by 10 at that point and it got uglier from there. The Sixers got cooked from long range (11 Heat triples in the half) and the Heat led by 21 points at the break. Yes, the Heat, 27th in three-point percentage prior to this contest, hit 11 triples in the first half. It was one of those nights.

And it continued to be one of those nights. The Sixers starters played the third frame before sitting for most of the last period of this contest — though calling it a “contest” is giving it too much credit.

The Sixers starters mostly played this game like it didn’t matter to them, and, frankly, they were kind of right. It meant way more to the Heat who are fighting for a guaranteed playoff spot than to the Sixers already locked into their playoff seed. It wasn’t a pretty one, but fans shouldn’t panic about their starting five. However, the bench looking so lackluster while they are fighting for their minutes in the playoff rotation... that’s a bit more concerning as something to watch in these final games.

Nevertheless, the regular season continues on, and the Sixers will hit the road for their last two games, facing the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night at 7:30 p.m. EST.

Guess we have to pick a Bell Ringer. Tonight, this isn’t so much “who played the best” as much as it is “who played the least poorly.”

Joel Embiid: 21 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks

Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images

Embiid kicked things off with a triple from long range. He continued to overpower the defense and make shots no one has any business making.

I mean, seriously, just look at this.

He led the Sixers after the first frame with 12 points. No one was sure how much of Embiid we would see in this game, but he was subbed back in for a chunk of the second frame. He put up a nice block in transition on Gabe Vincent and tacked on a few more points before the break for a 15-point first half. Embiid returned for a majority of the third, maybe a bit surprising in a game that is meaningless to the Sixers, down 20 points. He sat the entirety of the fourth, finishing this one with a team-leading 21 points on 9-for-13 field goal shooting, six boards, two assists and two blocks.

Jalen McDaniels: 10 points, 1 assist, 4 steals

Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images

McDaniels hit two triples in the first frame, including one off-the-dribble to beat the buzzer at the end of the period. In the third, he slammed down a lob from Shake Milton. He played decent defense for what was mostly a defense-optional game, grabbing four steals. He finished with 10 points on 4-for-8 field goal shooting. It wasn’t a groundbreaking performance by any means, but it was slim picking from this game and McDaniels has been one of the few non-Embiid bright spots the last couple games. It’s a development worth watching as he fights for his playoff minutes in these last few regular season contests.

Delaware Blue Coats (G League Championship)

While the Sixers were doing, well, whatever that was, the Blue Coats were playing for hardware in the second game of the G League Finals series against the Rio Grande Valley Vipers.

Delaware’s Jaden Springer looked hot from the jump, both from long range and driving downhill to the basket. In his 14-point first period, Springer sank two triples.

The contest was close for most of the first half. However, after a weird break early in the third frame due to an Easter celebration that left confetti all over the court, the Blue Coats started to pull away to a double-digit lead. After a nine-point first half for Mac McClung, he turned it up after halftime, sinking two triples in the third to help the Blue Coats extend and hold the advantage. The Blue Coats in general were firing on all cylinders from beyond the arc, sinking 16-of-37 from long range.

Despite a late run from the Vipers that saw Delaware’s lead cut to four with under a minute to play, a huge block from Louis King on a Rio Grande Valley transition layup ultimately sealed the deal for Delaware. The Blue Coats were able to hold on to close out the series 2-0 and win the NBA G League Championship.

McClung led the Blue Coats with 30 points (five triples) and nine assists, Braxton Key followed with 22 points (four triples) and Springer finished with 21 points.

With the Blue Coats season finished, this may pave the way for the likes of Springer, McClung and King to get some playing time in the Sixers’ final regular season games this weekend.