{"id":311138,"date":"2026-10-21T07:26:17","date_gmt":"2026-10-21T07:26:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/311138\/"},"modified":"2026-10-21T07:26:17","modified_gmt":"2026-10-21T07:26:17","slug":"sixers-bell-ringer-philly-win-portends-great-things-to-come-in-victory-over-defending-champs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/311138\/","title":{"rendered":"Sixers Bell Ringer: Philly win portends great things to come in victory over defending champs"},"content":{"rendered":"

Aside from potentially playing a role in a tiebreaker scenario at the end of the season, Tuesday night\u2019s game was just one of 82 on the schedule. But it felt much bigger than that, what with the New York Knicks raising the banner, and the Philadelphia 76ers both looking to show that last spring\u2019s playoff sweep wasn\u2019t who they are anymore, both figuratively and literally with the number of new faces. Fans were treated to a playoff-like atmosphere in October, and it\u2019s hard to come away with anything but optimism about the Sixers\u2019 prospects after their 106-100 win over New York.<\/p>\n

The defense looked much better than anticipated, stifling the Knicks into shooting just 37 percent from the field. Philadelphia\u2019s unselfishness mantra held true offensively, with 28 assists on 37 made field goals. In addition to the big-name acquisitions, two of the new players down the roster contributed in the team-wide effort, with Anfernee Simons and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope both finishing in double figures. It was a hard-nosed, gutsy performance from a bunch of guys who haven\u2019t played a ton together yet against a Knicks group that has about as much continuity and recent success as anyone in the league. We saw a lot to like from these Sixers, so let\u2019s talk our first Bell Ringer of the season.<\/p>\n

Tyrese Maxey: 28 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals, 3 blocks, 2 turnovers<\/p>\n

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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – OCTOBER 20: Tyrese Maxey #0 of the Philadelphia 76ers shoots a layup during the third quarter of the game against Jalen Brunson #11 of the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on October 20, 2026 in New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Caleb Bowlin\/Getty Images) Getty Images<\/p>\n

In a game featuring the defending champions and teammates with all the accolades you can accrue in this sport, Tyrese Maxey looked to be the best player on the court to my eyes. He was the most consistent offensive engine for the Sixers all evening long, starting the scoring with a pair of threes, one off a nice read in the open court to pick off a pass. All game, whenever the Sixers needed something, it seemed to be Tyrese in transition, or using his elite acceleration to drive to the rim for a bucket or a foul. And remember when Maxey was a negative on defense? Those days are long gone. He\u2019s learned to hone his speed and athleticism to perfectly time rejections at the rim or intercept passing lanes. His pick-six with around two minutes left in the game firmly put the Sixers in control for the remainder of the contest. In so many ways, this is Tyrese Maxey\u2019s team now.<\/p>\n

LeBron James: 14 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 1 turnover<\/p>\n

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NEW YORK, NY – OCTOBER 20: LeBron James #23 of the Philadelphia 76ers looks on during the game against the New York Knicks on October 20, 2026 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant\/NBAE via Getty Images) NBAE via Getty Images<\/p>\n

LeBron James, Philadelphia 76er, became an actual on-court reality on Tuesday night, and it was beautiful in so many ways. He brings so much connectivity to the team on both ends of the court. James helped shore up the defensive glass and was such a communicative piece on the defensive end; I guess it remains to be seen if he\u2019ll be this locked in defensively on a non-nationally televised game against the Kings or whoever, but this game proved he still has that gear. Offensively, he made all the right reads we\u2019ve come to expect over the years from LeBron James, basketball savant. I\u2019m sure it will only get better as his chemistry with his new teammates increases. He also supercharges the transition game, both as an initiator and a finisher. LeBron James in the open court is still a freight train that can\u2019t be derailed. This was a \u201cquieter\u201d game from LeBron on a night his shot wasn\u2019t really falling, and he still had his fingerprints all over the win.<\/p>\n

Jaylen Brown: 19 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 2 turnovers<\/p>\n

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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – OCTOBER 20: Jaylen Brown #7 of the Philadelphia 76ers dribbles the ball during the third quarter of the game against Mikal Bridges #25 of the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on October 20, 2026 in New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Sarah Stier\/Getty Images) Getty Images<\/p>\n

Jaylen\u2019s Sixers debut went how you would have drawn it up to a tee. He played a lot of off ball when the starters were in the game, and then got his turn as a lead initiator when members of the second unit filtered into the game. Through it all, he never forced anything, picking his spots to score and doing a terrific job distributing to his teammates as well. Brown was the catalyst of the Sixers\u2019 11-0 run to close the third quarter and turn the tide of the game, knocking down a pair of threes and assisting another. His end-of-quarter buzzer beater was a fun first capsule highlight for his Philadelphia 76ers career. Defensively, he was brilliant, stifling Jalen Brunson during his stints guarding the reigning Finals MVP. I hope he enjoyed his debut in a Sixers win combined with Boston blowing a 22-point lead in the same day as much as we did.<\/p>\n

Anfernee Simons: 13 points, 2 rebounds, 0 turnovers<\/p>\n

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NEW YORK, NY – OCTOBER 20: Anfernee Simons #5 of the Philadelphia 76ers dribbles the ball during the game against the New York Knicks on October 20, 2026 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant\/NBAE via Getty Images) NBAE via Getty Images<\/p>\n

We weren\u2019t absolutely sure Simons would play in the opener after missing the preseason with a hamstring injury, but it\u2019s a good thing he did. On a night a lot of folks were having trouble seeing their outside shot fall, Simons came in and knocked down three triples across a three-minute span in the third quarter. It helped ensure the Knicks didn\u2019t start to pull away and the Sixers could remain within striking distance. Simons looks like a super microwave scorer option off the bench, and considering he joined the team with this viewed as a huge weakness, there wasn\u2019t anything I saw defensively that gave me great pause. He\u2019s going to see a ton of open looks this season, and Anfernee looks poised to drain his fair share.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Aside from potentially playing a role in a tiebreaker scenario at the end of the season, Tuesday night\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":311139,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[69,71,70,28049],"class_list":["post-311138","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-philadelphia","tag-philadelphia","tag-philadelphia-headlines","tag-philadelphia-news","tag-sixers-scores"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/311138","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=311138"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/311138\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/311139"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=311138"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=311138"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=311138"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}