Sixers Bell Ringer: Utah blizzard spoils Ben Simmons’ career night

Sixers Bell Ringer Season:

Joel Embiid – 12
Tobias Harris – 5
Ben Simmons – 4
Skud Milton – 3
Tyrese Maxey – 1
Dakota Mathias – 1
Matisse Thybulle – 1

Joel Embiid was a late scrapper for this game due to back strain, so naturally the Sixers shot 16-of-23 (69.6 percent) in the first quarter en route to 42 points. However, the lead evaporated through the five-minute mark of the second quarter as Utah empirically proved that three is greater than two, knocking down 18 3s on the game to Philadelphia’s eight – a 30-point gap from behind the arc. Led by Jordan Clarkson’s eight 3 and 40 points, Utah held off a greasy Sixers team that made it a two-possession game for much of the fourth quarter and eventually defeated Philadelphia 134-123 has. Let’s talk Bell Ringer.

Ben Simmons: 42 points, 9 rebounds, 12 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 4 turnovers

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Wow. There’s aggressive Ben Simmons, and then there’s what we saw of Ben Monday night, which I would equate to the gap between Super Saiyan 2 and 3. His first quarter was a real spectacle as he had 19 points on 7-of -7 shooting dropped. , plus five assistants. It was easily a career high for a quarter for Ben, and a unique achievement in NBA history.

The Jazz preferred to use centers Rudy Gobert and Derrick Favors to protect Simmons, and with Ben virtually on the fifth in attack in the minutes that Mike Scott was there, he had wide open lanes to load downhill and the basket to attack. And the attack he did, with short bench shots, inserts, drivers and brackets. Simmons tied his previous career high of 34 points in the third quarter and eventually joined Allen Iverson and Embiid as the only Sixers to score at least 40 points this millennium. Strikingly, in addition to his 15-of-26 shooting line, Simmons also shot 12-of-13 from the foul line; He is now on the leaderboard for 63.9 percent for the year, improving every year of his career in the department.

After the game, Ben discusses his need to focus mentally on constant attacks and how he feels he has improved in that area over the past few weeks. Sorry, other hopeful All-Star Eastern conferences, someone focused on looking down a place.

Tobias Harris: 36 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 0 turnover

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With the points totals of Simmons and Clarkson taking up a lot of conversational oxygen, Tobias had one of the quietest 36-point games you would ever see. As usual, he was incredibly effective, shooting 14-of-24 from the floor, 3-of-5 from 3 and 5-of-5 from the charity line. Like Ben, Harris started hot and he scored 14 points in the first quarter, a point that was also his best season for a quarter. Tobi had many confident plays as the ball-and-roll ball handler, unreservedly pulled up for the jumper as soon as the open appearance presented itself. He also used a number of strong driving forces to bounce defenders and turn on the edge of the turn. The Sixers’ non-Joel All-Star hopefuls have both definitely made their case in Utah.

Dwight Howard: 14 points, 12 rebounds, 1 block, 1 turnover

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Dwight probably played his best game as a Sixer, with the 14 points being a season-high for the big man. Howard was ruthless on the attacking glass, collecting six attacking plates and shooting a respected 4-of-6 from the foul line. He also did not try to do too much with the dribble work, and did not commit moving screens and then looked at the ref as if the concept was foreign to him. He was determined to tackle loose balls with as much energy as he could get and otherwise played a fairly disciplined game – great stuff!

We also learned after the game that Howard was dead in the family and Doc Rivers did not even expect him to play, but Dwight wanted to get out. Great effort by Dwight under what I surely were terrible conditions for him.