Sixers Bell Ringer: Maxey pours in 43 points in Sixers’ win over LeBron James, Lakers

Quite a few Philadelphia 76ers players had impressive performances against the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday, but none were as impressive as the 43-point evening of Tyrese Maxey.

Sixers Bell Ringer Season Standings:
Tyrese Maxey – 9
Jared McCain – 8
Joel Embiid – 7
Paul George – 7
Guerschon Yabusele – 4
Kelly Oubre Jr – 2
Ricky Council IV- 2
KJ Martin – 2
Justin Edwards – 2
Adem Bona – 1

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The Philadelphia 76ers have strung together three wins in a row for just the second time this season, defeating the Los Angeles Lakers 118-104 at the Wells Fargo Center on Tuesday night.

The Sixers were without Joel Embiid, Paul George, Andre Drummond, KJ Martin and Caleb Martin.

Lakers’ star Anthony Davis left this one early with an abdominal muscle strain and Los Angeles sort of fell apart when he did. After seemingly being in control of the game initially, the Lakers quickly devolved into a mess of turnovers and a complete lack of defense with Davis off the floor. The Sixers, especially Tyrese Maxey, took advantage. With Maxey leading the way dropping 27 first-half points, Philadelphia had 73 points and a 16-point advantage over Los Angeles at the break.

Maxey was just an absolute menace to the Lakers. By the end of the third quarter, Maxey already had 41 points on 14-for-24 field goal shooting and the Sixers had a 23-point lead over the visiting Lakers.

The Los Angeles offense, led by LeBron James, started to pick up in the fourth period but it was just too little, too late. The Lakers won the final frame 28-19 but the Sixers took the game 118-104. Maxey finished the evening with 43 points.

A January packed with back-to-backs for the Sixers carries on, with the squad back on the court Wednesday night to host the Sacramento Kings.

Until then, let’s get to the Bell Ringer. I’m going to quickly shout out a few players here, but honestly we all know who the Bell Ringer is…

Tyrese Maxey: 43 points (15-for-26 FG), 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals

Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images

I don’t know what exactly has gotten Maxey into this groove the last week or so but it’s been a thrill to watch. The Lakers had absolutely zero answer to his speed, footwork, and shooting in the first half of this one and Maxey took full advantage. After he put up 15 in the first (of the Sixers’ 25 total points at the time), Tuesday’s was the third straight game that Maxey has put up 14 or more points in the opening frame.

He had the Lakers’ defense looking like traffic cones he was running drills around — there was just so little resistance that Los Angeles could pose for Maxey and, even when they could, they ended up fouling him in the process. Maxey ended the first half with 27 points on 8-for-13 field goal shooting (two triples), was 9-for-9 from the charity stripe and had two steals at the break.

The onslaught continued in the third with Maxey tacking on 14 points in the penultimate frame. He hit a pair of triples but the real show continued to be how Maxey was repeatedly able to maneuver into the paint to the rim seemingly at will, even with five Lakers around him:

It’s a continuation of the absolute tear Maxey has been on recently. In his past 10 games before tonight’s, he has averaged 30.5 points (45.8% field goal shooting, 33.6% from long range), 7.5 assists and 1.6 steals per outing.

Tonight, he finished with 43 points, just two shy of his season-high of 45. It is his 11th straight game with at least 25 points. He shot 15-for-26 from the floor — those shots came from every possible angle and every level of difficulty, and still most were going in. Maxey also had three rebounds, two assists and two steals.

And he did it all with just one turnover the entire game.

Guerschon Yabusele: 14 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 steals

Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images

Guerschon Yabusele started the evening battling Lakers star Anthony Davis. Just as he hasn’t backed down from a challenge this season before, he didn’t tonight either. Hell, Yabusele went right at him, battling him one-on-one with his strength and size to get around Davis and lay it in over him. Oh, and Yabu hit AD with the “too small” after it, too.

A moment later, he came up with a steal (one of four for Yabu in this contest) before absolutely rumbling (somewhat stumbling) his way right around Bronny James and slamming it home with Davis trying to block him from behind.

Davis exited the game early and, from then on, there was really no challenge in the paint for Yabusele and the Sixers. It’s a huge reason Maxey was able to go on the tear he did. But Yabu still gets credit for how it certainly seemed he would fare in the battle against AD and for how he ended up playing throughout the entire game.

Yabusele finished with 14 points on 6-for-9 field goal shooting, had five rebounds (two offensive), three assist and four steals.

Ricky Council IV: 16 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals

Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images

Ricky Council IV was put in off the bench in the second quarter and made the most of his opportunity of some real playing minutes. He was stellar on both ends of the floor in what was really the perfect example of what he brings to the Sixers and the huge burst of energy he provides when he comes into a game. He is aggressive and fearless without being reckless and sloppy. Throughout tonight, Council made some excellent defensive plays, was aggressive attacking the glass and, of course, gave the fans a show.

Council finished with 16 points in 19:32 played, shooting 6-for-10 from the floor and 3-for-6 from long range. He also had seven rebounds (two offensive), two assists and two steals.

My personal favorite bucket of the night from Council though might be this one from late in the first half, where he absolutely bullies back Austin Reaves to all the way right under the basket for the finish.

Kelly Oubre Jr.: 20 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists

Photo by David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images

Kelly Oubre Jr.’s night started quiet with a lackluster first period but he didn’t let that get him down. Especially once Davis was off the floor, Oubre was able to start attacking the lane and getting into the paint with more ease, where he did most of his work tonight. Despite a rough night from long range, Oubre produced by sinking 7-of-10 field goals from in the paint and sinking all four of his free throw attempts.

He also continues to be a breath of fresh air (alongside guys like Yabusele and Adem Bona) for the Sixers in being aggressive on the boards. He pulled in eight rebounds tonight after grabbing 12 and 13 in the Sixers’ last two contests. It’s a lot easier to win basketball games when you rebound the ball. (This is something I imagine would have been a lot more difficult this evening if AD was able to play the entire contest, but Oubre still gets credit for his efforts nonetheless.)

He finished the evening with 20 points. It wasn’t the most efficient night, with Oubre shooting 8-for-18 from the floor and 0-for-5 from beyond the arc, but it does mark his third straight contest scoring 20 or more points.