Sixers Bell Ringer: Philadelphia finally wins another game

Quentin Grimes exploded for a career-high 44 points to halt a nine-game Sixers losing streak.

Sixers Bell Ringer Season Standings:
Tyrese Maxey – 16
Jared McCain – 8
Joel Embiid – 8
Paul George – 7
Guerschon Yabusele – 4
Kelly Oubre Jr – 4
Ricky Council IV – 2
KJ Martin – 2
Justin Edwards – 2
Quentin Grimes – 2
Adem Bona – 1
Jared Butler – 1
No One – 1

The Sixers have finally won a game post-Eagles Super Bowl victory. As we anticipated, an exciting guard duel broke out between Philadelphia and Golden State on Saturday night. Steph Curry had 29 points and a season-high 13 assists, while the Sixers got over 40 points from starting guard…Quentin Grimes? That’s right, with Tyrese Maxey’s finger clearly bothering him, it was Grimes who exploded for a career-high 44 points in the Sixers’ 126-119 win over the Warriors. It was a bad night for the tank, but I’m sure the guys didn’t want a 10-game losing streak, so let’s be happy for them for one night and celebrate what was an exciting game of basketball. Let’s go to Bell Ringer candidates.

Quentin Grimes: 44 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 steals, 1 block, 2 turnovers

Photo by David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images

Grimes was shooting absolute flames out of his hands right from the jump, going 5-of-5 from the field for 12 points in the first quarter. He did not show any signs of cooling off in the second, as he went to the locker room 8-of-9 from the floor, including 4-of-4 from three, draining a final buzzer beater from the top of the key to conclude the first 24 minutes of action. Grimes would evenutally start missing the occasional shot, but he was still putting on an incredible show in the second half. When the Warriors had a 9-0 run to close the gap midway through the fourth quarter, Quentin drained a pull-up three to make it a two-possession game again. He broke a tie with inside of two minutes remaining with a draining lay-in, and a minute later, got fouled by Draymond Green on a three-point attempt. Strangely, Grimes only made one free throw, as his 2-of-8 mark from the foul line was an odd blemish on his otherwise stellar night. He ended the game 18-of-24 from the field, and probably added a bit to his price in restricted free agency this offseason.

Guerschon Yabusele: 18 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 turnovers

Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images

It was good to have the Dancing Bear back out there after he had his eyes clawed up and missed some game action. Now playing begoggled, Yabu’s vision looked just fine in shooting 5-of-7 from downtown. He also threw his weight around on the interior, but it was three huge triples in the fourth quarter that made the most impact. Guerschon sank one big shot with around 90 seconds left to kick the lead back up to five points. The theme tonight is definitely guys earning more money in free agency.

Kelly Oubre Jr.: 20 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block, 2 turnovers

Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images

Completing the ‘pay me more this summer’ trifecta, Oubre did the bulk of his damage earlier in the game to help Philadelphia build its lead. He scored nine straight Sixers points in the second quarter to help the team open up a double-digit advantage. Kelly also had an incredibly athletic play to block a Gary Payton II drive off the glass as a weakside helper. It was a perfect ‘play your role off the stars’ game from Oubre, only difference being the star tonight was Grimes.