Sixers fall to Bulls as Embiid sits out
CHICAGO - The 76ers did a good job getting back into the game. They did a bad job of stopping the Chicago Bulls once they got there.
CHICAGO - The 76ers did a good job getting back into the game. They did a bad job of stopping the Chicago Bulls once they got there.
The Bulls broke open a tied game with an 11-2 third-quarter burst en route to a 121-108 victory Sunday night at the United Center.
"That was one of the key parts of the game," Sixers coach Brett Brown said. "When we go back and watch the tape, you look and you say, 'What happened? Where were the breakdowns?' "
Chicago made 6 of 8 shots during the run, including five straight. Meanwhile, the Sixers missed 6 of 7 attempts before Ersan Ilyasova's layup snapped the run with one minute left in the third quarter.
"When you fight hard like that, and they rebound, it's really tough to recover at that point," said T.J. McConnell, whose squad battled back from a 20-point, second-quarter deficit. "We spent so much time and energy on [tying the score] that we didn't have enough to bring us back" after the 11-2 run.
The loss dropped the Sixers to 17-29 heading into Monday's matchup against the Sacramento Kings at the Wells Fargo Center. It was their second straight setback after winning 10 of their previous 13 games. This is their first losing streak since they dropped four straight from Dec. 20-29.
The game marked the 12th straight loss in their series with the Bulls (24-25), who snapped a two-game skid. The Sixers were at a disadvantage Sunday, playing without standout center Joel Embiid. He is listed as questionable for Monday's game with left knee soreness.
Embiid did not make the trip to Chicago and was undergoing treatment at the team's practice facility in Camden on Sunday.
The Sixers can only hope the Kings don't have the same balanced attack that the Bulls displayed Sunday.
Brown was asked if Embiid came back too soon.
"No, I don't think so," Brown said. "I think you end up going with the doctors' advice. I don't feel that way."
All-star Jimmy Butler finished with a team-high 28 points to go with eight rebounds, seven assists, and four steals. Robin Lopez added 21 points, 10 rebounds, and three blocks. Dwyane Wade and reserve Doug McDermott added 14 points each. Reserves Nikola Mirotic (13 points) and Paul Zipser (13) also scored in double figures.
The Bulls' reserves outscored their Sixers counterparts, 49-15.
"We've got to play harder and play better," reserve center Richaun Holmes said of the Sixers bench. "We just didn't play well enough tonight."
However, all five Sixers starters scored in double figures.
Ilyasova finished with a season-high 31 points and 11 rebounds one game after being held to four points. It was the sixth 30-point game of his career and his first since scoring a career-high 34 points on March 26, 2015, as a Milwaukee Buck.
However, the power forward had a bandage on his right shoulder and the back of his neck after the physical game. Ilyasova remained in the game and hopes to play Monday.
"I didn't feel that much," he said. "But when you get cooled down, it's a little bit kind of bothering me."
Robert Covington made 4 of 7 three-pointers to finish with 21 points to go with 12 rebounds, three steals, three assists, and three blocked shots. Nik Stauskas (15 points), McConnell (14 points, 12 assists) and Nerlens Noel (12 points, six rebounds, three blocks, two steals) were the other double-digit scorers.
The Sixers battled back from a 45-25 deficit with 9:30 left in the first half and knotted the score twice in the third quarter. However, the Bulls' run gave them a comfortable lead.
The Sixers pulled within five points on Stauskas' layup with 5:21 left. But that was as close as they got.
Jahlil Okafor, who is from Chicago, was the only available Sixer who did not see action Sunday.
Covington and Holmes are also from the Chicago area, while Chasson Randle is from Rock Island, Ill.
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