Sixers Bell Ringer regular season standings:
Jared McCain - 8
Paul George - 3
Tyrese Maxey - 3
KJ Martin - 2
Guerschon Yabusele - 2
Justin Edwards - 1
Joel Embiid - 1
Kelly Oubre, Jr. - 1
Oh, this is what it was supposed to look like.
In Joel Embiid’s return, the former MVP led the Sixers to a 108-100 win over the Chicago Bulls Sunday afternoon.
It wasn’t the greatest start for the Sixers. Embiid was understandably rusty, missing his first seven shots from the field. Those struggles seemed to have a ripple effect through the rest of the team as the Sixers trailed 33-23 after one.
In the second quarter, Joel Embiid began to look like Joel Embiid. The big man scored 19 points in the frame and the whole offense started to cook. The makes dramatically slowed down the Bulls’ transition opportunities and the Sixers’ half-court defense was up to the task. The Sixers won the second quarter 39-17 and took a 62-50 lead into the break.
Embiid kept it going, but a familiar issue emerged as the offense struggled a bit to close the quarter when the big fella went to the bench. A Jalen Smith half-court heave cut Chicago’s deficit to below 10.
The only negative for the Sixers today was their three-point shooting. They were generating great looks but finished 9-of-36 from deep as a team. Meanwhile, the Bulls came into this one as one of the best three-point shooting teams in the NBA and were able to win the math game to get back into this one. They were 19-of-54 on the day and seemed to make one every time the Sixers looked to pull away, cutting the lead to as low as four.
But after a few key defensive stops by Kelly Oubre, Jr. and company, the Sixers were able to put this one away. Don’t look now, but the Sixers have won four of five and sit at 7-15. They’re slowly but surely creeping back into the East playoff picture.
They’ll get a nice, long break after failing to make the knockout stage of the NBA Cup. They’ll next take the court Friday night in a home matchup against the Indiana Pacers. Presumably, it will be the home debut for the Sixers’ Big 3.
For now, let’s get to Bell Ringer.
Joel Embiid: 31 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks
Philadelphia 76ers v Chicago Bulls Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images
As mentioned, it wasn’t the best start for Embiid, but boy, what an encouraging second quarter. Beyond dropping 19 points, Embiid looked great physically. He hit a tough baseline fadeaway jumper over Nikola Vucevic and then followed his own miss to get an and-1. That seemed to get him going.
After that, Embiid and Maxey started to get the pick-and-roll cooking. Embiid hit his patented foul line middie and also had a real nice roll and finish at the rim. Maxey delivered a few nice pocket passes to Embiid throughout the day.
And this play is how you know Embiid is truly back.
Personal success and winning help, but Embiid seemed to be playing with more joy than he was previously.
He made numerous strong defensive plays, even switching onto some of Chicago’s strong perimeter scorers like Zach LaVine and Coby White. He looked spry — his energy level was high in all of his nearly 33 minutes. Now, he’ll get four days to rest and hopefully be ready to go Friday night.
Tyrese Maxey: 25 points, 14 assists, 11 rebounds, 1 steal
NBA: DEC 08 76ers at Bulls Photo by Melissa Tamez/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
You thought you were happy to see Joel Embiid back in the lineup ...
Tyrese Maxey had been struggling a bit of late, especially in the two games the Sixers played against the super-sized Orlando Magic. While we’re still waiting for Maxey to get back on track with his three-ball (3-of-12), he had likely his best game ever as a playmaker.
Nick Nurse made a tweak to his second-half starting group, inserting rookie Jared McCain in for Guerschon Yabusele. With Embiid back and the Bulls playing an uptempo style, it worked well. It also helped space the floor offensively. I don’t think Maxey has had a look this clean all season.
Maxey looked like a more confident player Sunday. Again, the ball movement and spacing provided by that lineup helped, but Maxey was playing fast and loose.
This whole sequence was awesome with KJ Martin coming up with the block and Yabusele with a nifty save between his legs. That created the late transition opportunity for Maxey who cooks rookie Matas Buzelis with a crossover before finishing around Josh Giddey with a reverse layup. Silky smooth.
And this play here. He rejects the Embiid screen, uses that momentum to turn the corner, and holds off a long and strong defender in Lonzo Ball while finishing high off the glass. This was a back-breaking bucket for the Bulls.
This is the Tyrese Maxey we’ve come to know.
That’s a career-high in both assists and rebounds for Maxey who notches his first career triple-double.
Kelly Oubre, Jr.: 12 points, 10 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 steals, 1 block
NBA: DEC 08 76ers at Bulls Photo by Melissa Tamez/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Embiid and Maxey were the stars but Oubre deserves some love.
The athletic wing filled his role to perfection Sunday — especially when Nurse used the lineup of Embiid, Maxey, McCain, Paul George and Oubre. With all the space, Oubre was able to operate out of the dunker spot which allowed him to pull down three offensive rebounds and also opens him up for lobs.
Oubre was also excellent defensively and on the glass all afternoon, coming away with a few key stops on LaVine late and snagging 10 rebounds overall.
He even managed to nail a timely three and was 2-of-3 from beyond the arc. With that Oubre is 13-of-23 from deep over his last five games. Small sample size and we know the shooting is erratic, but still an encouraging sign that he’s taking and making the ones that are open.
Poll
Who was the Bell Ringer in the Sixers’ win over the Bulls Sunday?
0%
Joel Embiid
(0 votes)
0%
Tyrese Maxey
(0 votes)
0%
Kelly Oubre, Jr.
(0 votes)
0 votes total Vote Now