Chicago Bulls Snap 76ers’ Win Streak With Double-OT Upset
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The red-hot Philadelphia 76ers returned home Monday night to face the Chicago Bulls for the third time this season. As the Sixers have been one of the NBA’s hottest teams, holding an eight-game win streak, they were notable favorites over the Bulls on Monday.
Straight out of the gate, the Sixers got off to a 22-17 lead. While they shot much better than the Bulls, taking care of the ball was a struggle for the Sixers, as they turned it over six times in the first quarter of action.
With Philly struggling to take care of the ball and develop an offensive rhythm, Chicago put together a much better second-quarter performance, which helped them gain a slight lead before halftime. Bulls' standouts Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan combined for 21 of Chicago’s 44 first-half points.
Meanwhile, Sixers star Joel Embiid was having one of his quieter offensive outings as he scored just 11 points while shooting 3-7 from the field in 18 minutes.
The Sixers have proven many times throughout the season that they can flip a switch and turn games around in the second half, pulling off convincing wins. Monday was just not that kind of night, though.
In the third quarter, the Sixers had a slight scoring edge over the Bulls, outscoring Chicago 28-25. Yet, they still trailed by one point going into the fourth quarter. Embiid’s 18-point stretch coming out of the half was a good sign the big man was feeling it enough to where he might will his team to a victory, but two early fouls during his fourth-quarter shift put him in danger of fouling out.
Embiid made it past regulation without getting called for his sixth foul. As neither team could pull away after four quarters, the Sixers and the Bulls went into overtime tied at 91. Then another five-minute period wasn’t enough for them to settle the score, as each team scored eight points.
Roughly one minute into double-overtime, Embiid was called for his sixth foul, which ended his night. At that point, the Sixers lost their most prominent scorer of the outing and would lean on Tyrese Maxey to take matters into his hands, as the Sixers’ other prominent guard James Harden was having an off night from the field.
Unfortunately for Philly, they couldn’t get the job done. With a 109-105 loss, the Bulls finally put an end to the Sixers’ win streak.
Dropping to 48-23 on the season, the Sixers will have to wait another day to clinch their spot in the playoffs. And they’ll hit the road to Chicago on Wednesday, where the Sixers will attempt to even the regular season series at 2-2.
Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.
