Game preview and injury report: Chicago Bulls face great challenge vs. Philadelphia 76ers

The Chicago Bulls (33-37) visit the Philadelphia 76ers (48-22) tonight. The Bulls are coming off a 113-99 home win against the Heat on Saturday. DeMar DeRozan led the team with 24 points, 10 assists, five rebounds and three steals, Zach LaVine had 18 points and seven assists, and Coby White added 18 points and six assists in 27 minutes off the bench.

Chicago Bulls (33-37) vs. Philadelphia 76ers (48-22)

Monday, March 20 – 07:00 PM ET at Wells Fargo Center

Chicago Bulls

Points Per Game: 113.5 (18th of 30)
Opponent Points Per Game: 112.6 (11th of 30)
Bench Points Per Game: 29.9 (24th of 30)
Pace: 98.8 (17th of 30)
Offensive Rating: 113.7 (22nd of 30)
Defensive Rating: 112.7 (5th of 30)
Net Rating: +1 (11th of 30)

Philadelphia 76ers

Points Per Game: 115.5 (13th of 30)
Opponent Points Per Game: 110.5 (3rd of 30)
Bench Points Per Game: 31.7 (23rd of 30)
Pace: 97.1 (26th of 30)
Offensive Rating: 118.1 (3rd of 30)
Defensive Rating: 112.9 (7th of 30)
Net Rating: +5.2 (3rd of 30)

Contain Tyrese Maxey

Tyrese Maxey went off against the Pacers on Saturday with 31 points and seven assists on 12-of-18 shooting and 5-of-9 from three-point range in a 141-121 road win for the 76ers.

While James Harden was out, Maxey picked up the slack on offense to help out Joel Embiid, and he's playing well in March, averaging 22.1 points, 3.1 assists, 2.6 rebounds and 2.2 steals in 34.4 minutes over 10 games.

Maxey is averaging 20 points, 4.5 assists, four rebounds in 33 minutes over two games against the Bulls this season, and they must contain him to win their 34th game this season.

Keep the momentum

Even though Miami had the rest advantage, the Bulls still handled them to keep their season alive. Chicago played a double overtime game the night before, but the Heat gave up 70 points in the first half, including 14 straight from Patrick Beverley.

The Bulls had a season-high 34 assists and went 17-of-34 from beyond the arc. Beverley had five three-pointers and Coby White added four. Another positive takeaway is that four players scored between 24 and 18 points for Chicago. Monday's visit to Philadelphia is a tough test, but the Bulls must feed off Saturday's performance and make the most of the next 12 games.

"This was a professional win," Beverley said on Saturday. "We came in understanding this was a must-need win. Obviously, after a double overtime game we didn't want to come out in mud. We wanted to come out and throw the first punch and we did (33-19 first quarter lead). We responded like any good team would."

"Our first punch was real heavy and we were able to withstand their punches throughout the game. It was a good test. Any adversity we face is good; it will help us throughout the playoffs," Beverley added.

Noteworthy

The Bulls won the last meeting, 126-112 on January 6. LaVine led the Bulls with 41 points.

The Bulls are 1-9 in the last 10 games against the 76ers.

Projected lineups

Bulls: Vucevic, Williams, LaVine, DeRozan, Beverley

76ers: Embiid, Harris, House, Harden, Maxey

Injury report

Bulls: Lonzo Ball is out with a left knee injury. Javonte Green (right knee soreness) will also miss this game. Alex Caruso (left mid-foot sprain) is questionable.

76ers: P.J. Tucker (left ankle soreness) is questionable Monday against the Bulls.