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TCA/DPA
Chicago
The 76ers successfully completed the second leg of a unique road trip. Now, they head back to Texas after extending their lead atop the Eastern Conference.
The Sixers defeated the Chicago Bulls, 106-94, on Monday at the United Center.
Tobias Harris paced Philly’s balanced attack with 21 points on 10-for-13 shooting to go with nine rebounds. Seth Curry had another sharpshooting night, finishing with 20 points on 7-for-10 shooting, making 3 of 5 three-pointers.
All five Sixers starters scored in double digits.
Philly (44-21) now has a one-game lead over the conference’s second-place Brooklyn Nets with seven contests remaining. The Nets (43-22) face the third-place Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday in the second game of a two-game series at Fiserv Forum.
The Sixers, meanwhile, will head to Houston on Tuesday for Wednesday night’s game against the Rockets at the Toyota Center. All this comes after the Sixers began their three-game road trip on Sunday against the San Antonio Spurs at the AT&T Center.
Coach Doc Rivers voiced his displeasure Sunday with having to travel from San Antonio to Chicago and then to Houston. He would have preferred to go from San Antonio to Houston, then to Chicago.
“We’re 45 minutes from Houston, and then we are going to fly to Chicago and play Chicago, and then fly back to Houston,” he said Sunday night. “It makes no sense, but it is what it is.” The future Hall of Fame coach doubled down on his displeasure before Monday’s game.
“Honestly, it just didn’t make a lot of sense,” Rivers said. “But it is what it is, and we’ll be ready tonight.” They sure were.
The Sixers played much better against the undermanned Bulls than they did versus the undermanned Spurs.
Sharing the ball, Danny Green (14 points, three steals), Ben Simmons (15 points, six rebounds, five assists), and Joel Embiid (13 points, 13 rebounds, three blocks) also had solid games.
This was an improvement from Sunday night. That’s when the Sixers stopped moving the ball and looked like a group of individuals trying to pad their statistics. Rivers commented about that after the 113-111 overtime victory against the Spurs. So one had to figure they wouldn’t make that mistake against Chicago.
The Bulls (26-39) were without All-Stars Zach LaVine and Nik Vucevic in addition to Troy Brown Jr. This marked the 11th consecutive game LaVine missed while the NBA’s Covid-19 health and safety protocol.
Chicago is 4-7 in those games.
Meanwhile, Vucevic, a former Sixer, missed his second consecutive game with right adductor tightness. And Brown (left ankle sprain) missed his eighth consecutive game.
Without those three, the young Bulls couldn’t avoid extending their losing streak to four games.
Curry was hot in the first quarter for the second straight night. He had 11 points on 5-for-7 shooting, including 1 of 3 on three-pointers. His play helped the Sixers build a 34-20 lead after one quarter.
Philly went on to build a commanding a 23-point lead on four occasions in the third quarter. But with a Sixers all-reserve lineup in the game, the Bulls pulled within seven points with 8:17 remaining.
That forced Rivers to bring Embiid, Simmons, Harris, and Curry back into the game. Green joined them after the Bulls pulled within one point (88-87) with 7:01 to play.
The Sixers responded by closing out the game with an 18-7 run.
Furkan Korkmaz limped off the court with 8:02 left in the first half after committing a foul. He went straight to the locker room. He was ruled out for the rest of the game with a sprained right ankle. The same injury sidelined Korkmaz in the Sixers’ two contests against the Bucks on April 22 and April 24 in Milwaukee.
Chicago
The 76ers successfully completed the second leg of a unique road trip. Now, they head back to Texas after extending their lead atop the Eastern Conference.
The Sixers defeated the Chicago Bulls, 106-94, on Monday at the United Center.
Tobias Harris paced Philly’s balanced attack with 21 points on 10-for-13 shooting to go with nine rebounds. Seth Curry had another sharpshooting night, finishing with 20 points on 7-for-10 shooting, making 3 of 5 three-pointers.
All five Sixers starters scored in double digits.
Philly (44-21) now has a one-game lead over the conference’s second-place Brooklyn Nets with seven contests remaining. The Nets (43-22) face the third-place Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday in the second game of a two-game series at Fiserv Forum.
The Sixers, meanwhile, will head to Houston on Tuesday for Wednesday night’s game against the Rockets at the Toyota Center. All this comes after the Sixers began their three-game road trip on Sunday against the San Antonio Spurs at the AT&T Center.
Coach Doc Rivers voiced his displeasure Sunday with having to travel from San Antonio to Chicago and then to Houston. He would have preferred to go from San Antonio to Houston, then to Chicago.
“We’re 45 minutes from Houston, and then we are going to fly to Chicago and play Chicago, and then fly back to Houston,” he said Sunday night. “It makes no sense, but it is what it is.” The future Hall of Fame coach doubled down on his displeasure before Monday’s game.
“Honestly, it just didn’t make a lot of sense,” Rivers said. “But it is what it is, and we’ll be ready tonight.” They sure were.
The Sixers played much better against the undermanned Bulls than they did versus the undermanned Spurs.
Sharing the ball, Danny Green (14 points, three steals), Ben Simmons (15 points, six rebounds, five assists), and Joel Embiid (13 points, 13 rebounds, three blocks) also had solid games.
This was an improvement from Sunday night. That’s when the Sixers stopped moving the ball and looked like a group of individuals trying to pad their statistics. Rivers commented about that after the 113-111 overtime victory against the Spurs. So one had to figure they wouldn’t make that mistake against Chicago.
The Bulls (26-39) were without All-Stars Zach LaVine and Nik Vucevic in addition to Troy Brown Jr. This marked the 11th consecutive game LaVine missed while the NBA’s Covid-19 health and safety protocol.
Chicago is 4-7 in those games.
Meanwhile, Vucevic, a former Sixer, missed his second consecutive game with right adductor tightness. And Brown (left ankle sprain) missed his eighth consecutive game.
Without those three, the young Bulls couldn’t avoid extending their losing streak to four games.
Curry was hot in the first quarter for the second straight night. He had 11 points on 5-for-7 shooting, including 1 of 3 on three-pointers. His play helped the Sixers build a 34-20 lead after one quarter.
Philly went on to build a commanding a 23-point lead on four occasions in the third quarter. But with a Sixers all-reserve lineup in the game, the Bulls pulled within seven points with 8:17 remaining.
That forced Rivers to bring Embiid, Simmons, Harris, and Curry back into the game. Green joined them after the Bulls pulled within one point (88-87) with 7:01 to play.
The Sixers responded by closing out the game with an 18-7 run.
Furkan Korkmaz limped off the court with 8:02 left in the first half after committing a foul. He went straight to the locker room. He was ruled out for the rest of the game with a sprained right ankle. The same injury sidelined Korkmaz in the Sixers’ two contests against the Bucks on April 22 and April 24 in Milwaukee.
