Sixers Bell Ringer Season Standings:
Tyrese Maxey - 16
Joel Embiid - 8
Jared McCain - 8
Paul George - 7
Quentin Grimes - 7
Kelly Oubre Jr - 5
Guerschon Yabusele - 4
Adem Bona - 2
Ricky Council IV - 2
Justin Edwards - 2
KJ Martin - 2
Jared Butler - 1
Jeff Dowtin Jr. - 1
Andre Drummond - 1
No One - 1
You have to admit, that was entertaining.
The extremely-shorthanded Philadelphia 76ers, on the second leg of a back-to-back, fell in overtime after giving the Houston Rockets one hell of a fight Monday night. Quentin Grimes yet again led the way for the Sixers with a career-high 46 points.
Everyone should be happy with this one. It was a good basketball game, the Sixers put up more than a valiant effort, and they ended up not winning/hurting their lottery standing.
To set the scene, the Sixers had 11 players ruled out across their roster, leaving Philadelphia to field their 44th starting lineup of the season: Justin Edwards, Ricky Council IV, Oshae Brissett, Grimes and Jared Butler.
Just as I’m sure we all expected considering the matchup and player availabilities, the outmanned Sixers put up their best first period of the entire season on the Rockets, running up 44 points in the first 12 minutes on Monday. They shot 67% (16-for-24) from the floor and 64% (9-for-14) from long range in the opening frame. By midway through the second frame, Philadelphia led by over 20 and had already sunk a dozen triples.
The onslaught wasn’t finished, though. By halftime, the Sixers had sank 15-of-26 three-pointers and put up a season-high half of 78 points on the Rockets. Houston continued to struggle and trailed by 21 at the break.
Did I mention who the Sixers had available tonight? And that it was the second leg of a back-to-back? None of it seemed to matter. They were moving the ball well, shooting the damn lights out and taking advantage of the Rockets’ sloppy mistakes and lackadaisical defense. I know there are a lot of people that are not particularly happy to see the Sixers doing well at all right now, but this was fun to watch. Feels like it’s been awhile since we’ve been able to say that.
That being said, we probably all knew that wasn’t going to be exactly sustainable. The Rockets finally started getting shots to fall in the third and they woke up quick. From down over 20 points to start the frame, they were within just a few points toward the end of the third. We even had some pushing and shoving to close the period. This game had everything, baby!
Philadelphia got off to a hot start in the fourth quarter that saw them retake the lead, but Houston was not giving up. This one was staying highly contested, and I do mean highly as the chippyness and chirping continued between the two teams throughout. Both Tari Eason and Fred VanVleet were ejected for technicals in the fourth and Houston could just seemingly never get it together enough to level the game... until the final seconds.
Yep. Overtime.
Houston’s size finally started to become a problem. Between that play and overtime, the Sixers were finally outmatched — still not to the degree we thought it would be to start tonight, though. Philadelphia ultimately falls in overtime to Houston, 144-137.
I have probably already made this opinion evidently clear, but I sincerely hope the guys that played for the Sixers tonight don’t hang their heads about this loss. They have nothing to feel poorly about with that performance. They also get a well-deserved night off on Tuesday before continuing their road trip on Wednesday night. It’s another impossible-on-paper matchup, though, as they visit the Western Conference-leading Oklahoma City Thunder. Philadelphia are 23-45.
Until then, let’s get to the Bell Ringer. We have to give out some flowers tonight.
Quentin Grimes: 46 points (career-high), 13 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 1 block
Philadelphia 76ers v Houston Rockets Photo by Logan Riely/NBAE via Getty Images
Yet another stellar night from a guy shaping up to be one hell of an addition to this team. Quentin Grimes is just a baller. No other way to put it. It didn’t matter if it was the struggling Rockets that started tonight or the red hot ones that finished the night, they could not stop Grimes and Grimes couldn’t stop sinking shots. It simply didn’t stop.
These recent Sixers’ games haven’t always had much to cheer about or even much particularly interesting, but he’s been a constant bright spot. Grimes was brought in and almost immediately had the opportunity to establish himself as a leader for the Sixers through this rough time — he has taken advantage. He clearly has not been hampered by the tough situation this team is in and continues to show that he can be an absolute asset at guard, looking like the real deal as a scorer, facilitator, defender, active rebounder... what more can you ask? I know the Dallas Mavericks have had bigger losses this season, but they seem to have lost another serious asset in Grimes as well.
Grimes finished Monday with a career-high 46 points on 15-for-27 (55.6%) field goal shooting and 8-for-14 (57.1%) shooting from long range. He also notched another double-double in this one with 13 rebounds to go with his career scoring mark, and add four assists, two steals and one block. Now that’s one hell of a night.
Jalen Hood-Schifino: 12 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assists, 2 steals
Philadelphia 76ers v Houston Rockets Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images
Well, Jalen Hood-Schifino wasted no time getting acclimated with the Sixers. The 21-year-old put up a career-high 19 points the last Sixers’ contest against the Dallas Mavericks and had another great showing tonight. JHS is quickly becoming another name (well, abbreviation) to add to the list of compelling guards on this Sixers’ roster to keep an eye on after putting up 12 points against the Rockets tonight off the bench.
He looked confident yet again on both ends of the floor, not afraid to pull up for a jumper whether from midrange or long range as well as getting involved defensively. It was working well for him, especially in the first half. He had a bit of a rougher second half as other teammates started to take over the game, but he’s certainly someone I’ll be watching out for as we come down the stretch of the end of this season.
Justin Edwards: 18 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal
Philadelphia 76ers v Houston Rockets Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images
Justin Edwards got off to an aggressive start, one that contributed to the Sixers’ insane 44-point first frame. He got into a quick groove with eight points in the opening frame on two triples and the tone was set for him for the night. He is looking confident and energetic, and it’s paying off in his play. Edwards was finding success all over the floor tonight early on, shooting 5-for-8 from the floor and 3-for-4 from three going into halftime. Like JHS, Edwards also struggled a bit more on offensive production in the second half, but it was still a solid night overall for Edwards. He finished with 18 points, three rebounds, four assists and a steal.
Jared Butler: 21 points, 2 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, 1 block
Philadelphia 76ers v Houston Rockets Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images
Jared Butler was already having a good night as a facilitator and playmaker throughout the first half before absolutely coming alive as a scorer in the second half. When things started to get chippy between the squads, too, it only seemed to make Butler better. He started to heat up in the third frame, coming out of the halftime break to score four points in the first minute of the second half.
In the fourth, however, was when he really came alive. With the game close and tensions between teams running high, Butler got into his best groove of the night, scoring nine points (one triple) in a window of about four minutes midway through the frame, keeping the Sixers ahead at that point. He finished this one with 21 points on 7-for-15 field goal shooting in addition to two rebounds, five assists, two steals and a block.
Oshae Brissett: 11 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks
Philadelphia 76ers v Houston Rockets Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images
Oshae Brissett found himself starting at center for the shorthanded Sixers tonight... quite an interesting opportunity for a 6-foot-7 guy on a 10-day contract. I think him being put in that position, especially against a damn good Rockets squad, in itself deserves some praise, but Brissett also handled it pretty well. He was absolutely battling for rebounds or to throw off Rockets shots, even if it meant going up against some guys that were a whole lot bigger than him, and found ways to contribute offensively. Brissett finished this one with 11 points, five rebounds, two assists and two blocks.
Poll
Who was the Sixers’ Bell Ringer against the Houston Rockets?
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Quentin Grimes
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Jalen Hood-Schifino
(0 votes)
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Justin Edwards
(0 votes)
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Jared Butler
(0 votes)
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Oshae Brissett
(0 votes)
0 votes total Vote Now