Sixers Bell Ringer: The Sixers’ two stars don’t get much help in their terrible defeat to Cleveland

Note: There is no traditional recap post for this game.

Sixers Bell Ringer season ranking:

Joel Embiid – 14
Ben Simmons – 7
Tobias Harris – 6
Milton Shake – 3
Tyrese Maxey – 1
Dakota Mathias – 1
Matisse Thybulle – 1

Tonight is the night that Tobias Harris became an All-Star. With Philadelphia’s third star away with an injured knee, the team’s two stars received no help from the supporting squad, losing 112 to 109 to Cleveland, an even more painful defeat because we had to suffer an extra five minutes in overtime. The Sixers are now tied with Brooklyn for first place in the Eastern Conference. By the time you are reading this, the Nets could have moved into the exclusive possession of the first by defeating Dallas. Well, let’s choose a Bell Ringer and clean up this game from the old memory banks.

Joel Embiid: 42 points, 13 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 3 turns

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Joel did his best to carry the Sixers offensively, punching the Cavs on the pole on a night when he also had the swing out – basically the unstoppable Embiid combo package. He finished 13 out of 22 on the field, 2 out of 3 in the city center and 14 out of 16 on the foul line. A jump back towards the end of the first half was something an NBA guard would have in his arsenal. Down the stretch in the regulation, Embiid twice looked up and drove left on Jarrett Allen, plunging right into the face of the new Cavs center. In overtime, JoJo was still the only Sixer who could do anything, scoring 12 of the team’s 17 points on the scoreboard. This would have been a career night for many guys. It wasn’t even Joel’s best game this month.

Ben Simmons: 24 points, 7 rebounds, 8 assists, 1 steal, 7 turns

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It’s not Ben’s best game, to be honest, as six of his seven turns were bad passes out of character. But it was nice to see him in attack mode. He forced the pace for a handful of thunderous submissions in the transition, which we have seen many times, but Simmons has also expanded his repertoire with almost half a dozen hooks on the inside against strong newcomer defender Isaac Okoro. Oh, and for the “shoot 3, you coward” crowd, Ben hit a completely meaningless 3 at the end of overtime.

Mike Scott: 5 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 return

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After Furkan Korkmaz became extremely ineffective, Scott replaced him alongside

the starting group in the second half. Mike hit both attempts at goal, cutting Simmons’ post-up just in time and hitting a top-of-the-key 3 on Joel’s opening kick. The veteran striker was also solid in his defensive spins; overall, good Scott minutes, which the team will surely need while Tobias is out.