Chicago Bulls Take Down Joel Embiid-Less 76ers on Friday

The Chicago Bulls completed a successful trip to South Philly by taking down the 76ers on Friday night.

The Philadelphia 76ers hosted a third-straight matchup at the Wells Fargo Center on Friday night. For the second time this season, the Sixers went toe-to-toe with the Chicago Bulls.

Back in October, the Sixers and the Bulls would meet for the first time this season. With a chance to snap a multi-year losing streak, the Bulls put up a good fight against the Sixers but couldn’t find success. 

Although it was a tight matchup in late October, the Sixers came out on top with a 114-109 win with some help from a 25-point effort by Joel Embiid.

On Friday, the Bulls were in South Philly for the first time this year, once again looking to snap their losing streak, which stretched to 12 games at the start of the year. 

Quarter Breakdown

1st Quarter

For the second-straight game, the Sixers took on their opponent without their starting center Joel Embiid on the floor. Before the game, Sixers head coach Doc Rivers mentioned that Embiid’s absence wasn’t anything significant to worry about, but it seems the team is being extremely cautious with the big man’s foot soreness, which he suffered on Monday.

Without Embiid, the Sixers once again utilized Tyrese Maxey in the starting lineup while allowing PJ Tucker to shift to the center position. The choice to start Maxey really paid off for the Sixers on Friday, as the young guard looked much sharper on the offensive end of the floor in his fourth game back.

Maxey put up Philly’s first points with a healthy three. He proceeded to fire off eight points in seven minutes by draining three of his five shots and knocking down both of his threes. As a team, the Sixers found a lot of success in transition by going plus-15 per 100 possessions in transition, according to Cleaning the Glass.

The Sixers wrapped up the first quarter, leading 30-25. 

2nd Quarter

With their lead increased to 13 points, the Sixers had an opportunity to start pulling away. However, the Bulls had different plans. The absence of Embiid shined bright in the second quarter. Chicago found tons of success in the paint against the Sixers, draining 91 percent of their shots at the rim.

On the other end, the Sixers didn’t necessarily counter too well. To compare, Philly made just 53 percent of their shots at the rim. The Sixers also struggled from beyond the arc, hitting on just 27 percent of their threes.

Overall, Chicago drained 77 percent of their field goal attempts in the second quarter. Bulls star Zach LaVine led the way with ten points in eight minutes. Chicago not only cut into the Sixers’ early double-digit lead, but they got out in front by halftime. The Sixers trailed 59-55 through two quarters. 

3rd Quarter

Coming out of the half, the Sixers looked to establish an early offensive rhythm with a couple of successful three-pointers coming from Maxey and De’Anthony Melton. It wouldn’t be long before the Bulls would hit back with a run of their own.

Halfway through the third quarter, Bulls standouts Nikola Vucevic and LaVine hit back-to-back threes, sending the Sixers into a timeout. While the timeout was an opportunity for the Sixers to re-group and keep the game tight, Chicago got a huge boost from LaVine. 

The All-Star scored at will, making shots from all areas of the floor. Going 6-9 from the field and 5-6 from three, LaVine produced 19 points in 12 minutes. 

The veteran forward Patrick Williams had himself a quarter as well, draining all seven of his shots, with two coming from beyond the arc, collecting 16 points. A third-quarter 40-point rally for Chicago gave the Bulls a comfortable 99-84 lead going into the fourth quarter. 

4th Quarter

Running low on time, the Sixers needed to get off to a quick start and own the fourth quarter to avoid falling too far behind. A couple of trips to the free throw line for Philadelphia was a good start, but the Bulls wouldn’t let them catch fire from the field.

A little over halfway through the final quarter, the Sixers were showing life with a quick 8-0 run, getting the game within ten points. Looking for a momentum shift, the Sixers had the crowd on their side. Finally, Philadelphia got the game within single digits courtesy of a wide-open James Harden three-point shot.

Unfortunately, Harden’s three wasn’t the start of a late comeback run for Philadelphia. Just seconds later, Bulls guard Coby White nailed a 27-footer to take a ten-point lead once again, sending the Sixers into a timeout. Following a Harden miss from deep coming out of the timeout, Zach LaVine knocked down a three, deflating the Sixers’ chances of making a comeback.

With a stellar performance from LaVine, the Chicago Bulls put the Sixers away 126-112.


Published
Justin Grasso
JUSTIN GRASSO

Title: Credentialed writer/reporter covering the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated’s FanNation Email: JustinGrasso32@Gmail.com Location: Philadelphia, PA Expertise: Reporting, insight, and analysis on the Sixers and the NBA  Justin Grasso is a credentialed writer and publisher covering the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated’s FanNation.  Grasso got his start in sports media in 2016 with FantasyPros, working the news desk, providing game-by-game player analysis and updates on the Portland Trail Blazers and the Golden State Warriors. By 2017, he joined FanSided’s Philadelphia Eagles site as a staff writer. After spending one season covering the Eagles as a staff writer, Grasso was promoted to become the site’s Co-Editor. For the next two NFL seasons, he covered the Eagles closely before broadening his NFL coverage. For a brief stint, Grasso covered the NFL on a national basis after joining Heavy.com as an NFL news desk writer. In 2019, Grasso joined the 76ers' beat on a part-time basis, stepping into a role with South Jersey’s 97.3 ESPN. Ahead of the 2019-2020 NBA season, he concluded a three-year stint covering the Eagles and joined the Sixers beat full-time. Grasso has covered the 76ers exclusively since then for Sports Illustrated. He is a member of the Pro Basketball Writer’s Association.  Twitter: @JGrasso_ Instagram: @JGrassoNBA