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

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

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

Despite being significantly undermanned, the Sixers hung tough and made a game out 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 a 54-48 advantage at halftime.

As the Sixers have often done this season, they battled 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. tipped in just before the buzzer in the third quarter brought them back within four heading into the fourth quarter. The Sixers would cut it to two on a Jared McCain three with just over five minutes remaining, 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 when he made a tough shot late to give the Cavaliers a 114-106 victory.

The Sixers will be back in action on Friday when they travel to Orlando for their second NBA Cup group stage game. 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 assists, 2 steals, 2 rebounds, 6 threes

Photo by David Dowt/NBAE via Getty Images

The Sixers rookie continued to impress, scoring 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 by a rookie, passing the 33 points that No. 1 overall Zaccharie Risacher had last Wednesday night in Atlanta Hawks’ win over New York Knicks. McCain continues to show off his dynamic scoring ability from all three levels, as he was able to finish in 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 with his six three-pointers.

The rookie continues to exude confidence and play with poise well beyond his years. While McCain’s scoring has been the standout throughout the early part of this season, his 10 assists tonight show that he is more than just a scorer. McCain was able to use his scoring gravitas 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 that showcased some of McCain’s more advanced playmaking skills.

Here are all 10 of McCain’s assists 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 reach those totals in one game.

We’re a long way from the end of the NBA season, but McCain is staking his early claim to be NBA Rookie of the Year. The Sixers appear to have struck gold 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: