Sixers Bell Ringer: Jared McCain, ring that bell, brother

Sixers Bell Ringer regular season standings:
Jared McCain – 3
Tyrese Maxey – 2
Paul George – 2
Guerschon Yabusele – 2
Kelly Oubre, Jr. – 1

The Sixers welcomed the NBA leading 12-0, undefeated, Cleveland Cavaliers to the Wells Fargo Center on Wednesday night. The Sixers were without Joel Embiid and Paul George on this second night of a back-to-back due to knee injury management. Tyrese Maxey missed his fourth consecutive game with a hamstring injury and will be re-evaluated on Friday. Andre Drummond was unavailable due to an illness.

Despite being considerably undermanned the Sixers hung tough and made a game of this one. The Sixers trailed by four after the opening period but put together one of their better quarters of the young season, outscoring the Cavaliers 27-17 in the second frame to grab hold of a 54-48 advantage at intermission.

As the Sixers have done often this season they struggled out of the gate in the third quarter and the Cavaliers took an eight-point lead late in the third; before a pair of Eric Gordon free throws and a Kelly Oubre, Jr. tip in right before the third-quarter buzzer brought them back within four headed to the fourth quarter. The Sixers would cut it to two on a Jared McCain three with just over five minutes to go but that was the closest they would get. Donovan Mitchell showed why he is an All-Star and one of the best guards the league has to offer as he put on a tough shot making display late to give the Cavaliers a 114-106 victory.

The Sixers will be back in action on Friday as they travel to Orlando for their second group play game of the NBA Cup. The matchup with the Magic will be the first game of a three-game road trip for the Sixers.

Now for the Bell Ringer, I’m not sure their needs to be much debate about this one. The Sixers’ Bell Ringer for tonight has to be none other than rookie sensation Jared McCain.

Jared McCain: 34 points, 10 assist, 2 steals, 2 rebounds, 6 threes

Photo by David Dowt/NBAE via Getty Images

The Sixers rookie continued to impress pouring in a career-high 34 points on 12-of-26 from the field and 6-of-12 from beyond the three point arc. McCain’s 34 points set a new NBA season-high, single-game scoring mark by a rookie passing the 33 points put up by No. 1 overall pick Zaccharie Risacher last Wednesday night in the Atlanta Hawks’ win over the New York Knicks. McCain continues to show his dynamic scoring ability from all three levels as he was able to finish amongst the trees over the likes of Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley, find a home in the midrange with pull-up jumpers and bump fades, to go along with his six three-pointers.

The rookie continues to exude confidence and play with a poise well beyond his years. While McCain’s scoring has been what has stood out throughout the early portion of this season, his 10 assists tonight show he is more than just a scorer. McCain was able to use his scoring gravity to open up opportunities for his teammates and made quick and decisive decisions, including a sweet one-handed skip pass for a Reggie Jackson three which flashed some of McCain’s more advanced abilities as a playmaker.

Here are all 10 of McCain’s assist from tonight:

McCain’s stat line tonight also put him in some elite company joining Steph Curry and Jason Kidd as the only rookies in NBA history to hit those totals in a game.

We are a long way away from the conclusion of the NBA season, but McCain is making his early claim to being the NBA Rookie of the Year. The Sixers look to have struck gold once again in the middle of the first round on another guard out of a blue blood program. Is it too early to say the Sixers have a Big 4?

Sit back and enjoy all 34 points from McCain: