Sixers Bell Ringer: Sixers pull out of horrific nosedive and squeak by Wizards

(Calming mantra on repeat) A win is a win. A win is a win. A win is a win.

Sixers Bell Ringer season standings:
Jared McCain – 8
Joel Embiid – 7
Tyrese Maxey – 6.5
Paul George – 4.5
Kelly Oubre Jr – 2
Guerschon Yabusele – 2
KJ Martin – 2
Ricky Council IV – 1
Justin Edwards – 1

In the battle of two of the top teams in the NBA, the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder, 129-122. Meanwhile, in the battle of two teams with half their rosters on the injury report and basically flailing around like the inflatable balloon guy outside a car dealership, the Philadelphia 76ers survived against the Washington Wizards, 109-103.

What originally looked like your classic ‘it wasn’t pretty, but at least the Sixers took care of business against an inferior opponent’ win, suddenly got reaaaaaal dicey in the fourth quarter. The Wizards entered the period down 14 points, but surged back to go ahead, 98-96, their first lead since 5-4. As the Sixers continued to play less than stellar ball down the stretch and some truly terrible officiating decisions went against them, it looked like they were going to have a fresh entry in the highly competitive Worst Loss of the Season category. However, they finally got their stuff together enough to close the game on an 8-0 run and emerge victorious. Now, we can at least tell ourselves one tally in the win column is all that matters. On to our Bell Ringer candidates…

Guerschon Yabusele: 21 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 1 turnover

Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images

Where would the Sixers be if Yabu hadn’t wanted to take a paycut from Real Madrid and return to test his mettle in the NBA again back in August? Possibly about as close to the Wizards in the standings as the two teams were on the court Wednesday night. Guerschon was a two-way stalwart yet again, leading the team in rebounding with both Joel Embiid and Andre Drummond unavailable, and going 5-of-7 from behind the three-point line. Yabusele continually created extra possessions for the Sixers with his work on the offensive glass, and came up with the biggest defensive play of the game in denying fellow Frenchman Bilal Coulibaly on a game-tying attempt. We’re getting into greatest Sixers minimum contract signing ever territory, people.

Kelly Oubre Jr.: 15 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks, 3 turnovers

Photo by David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images

I’m happy Kelly Oubre is on this team because there are so many times when he is one of the few guys out there who looks like he actually has a pulse. Kelly was all over the place to help the Sixers jump out in front in the first quarter, scoring nine points in the period and coming away with a couple big defensive plays. Oubre alertly drifted off his man to come from behind and steal the ball from Jonas Valanciunas, taking it coast-to-coast for a finish in the lane. One minute later, he made possibly the most athletic play of the game, rising up to deny the 6-foot-11 Valanciunas on a dunk attempt.

Tyrese Maxey: 29 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals, 2 steals, 1 turnover

Photo by David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images

Most of this night was really rough for Tyrese, consisting of a bunch of clanked jumpers on his way to a 3-of-14 night from behind the arc. However, we did get one outstanding quarter from him, as Maxey scored nearly half of his 29 points in the third quarter (14 to be exact). He started things off in the second half with a gorgeous drive and reverse lay-in, and then turned up the defensive intensity for a steal and breakaway bucket. A few makes at the rim seemed to give him a good feel, as he would not longer after hit a pair of three-pointers as well. While he was quieter in the fourth quarter, Maxey did come away with what turned out to be the game-winning bucket with 24 seconds left. Rather than maybe letting the game clock dwindle down inside 10 seconds and take a low percentage iso shot, Tyrese recognized he could get a step on Corey Kispert and attacked the basket immediately. Big time basket from a big time player.