Sixers’ sixth consecutive playoff berth remains on hold after 109-105 double-overtime loss to Bulls

Monday night’s loss delayed making things official.

As one of the league’s top teams for much of the season, the 76ers expect to do much more than reach the playoffs. They’re one of the contenders for the NBA title.

But things come in steps, and the Sixers (48-23) missed out on taking the first one.

The Chicago Bulls prevailed, 109-105, in double overtime at the Wells Fargo Center to delay clinching the Sixers’ sixth consecutive postseason appearance. The loss came after the Sixers honored members of the franchise’s 1982-83 squad, marking the 40th anniversary of the team’s last NBA title.

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A victory would have given them more to celebrate.

But after honoring Julius “Dr.J” Erving, Bobby Jones, Mo Cheeks, and Co. (head coach Billy Cunningham’s health prevented him from traveling), the Sixers had their league-best eight-game winning streak snapped. The loss also dropped them to third place in Eastern Conference standings, half a game behind the second-place Boston Celtics with 11 games remaining.

“I thought tonight could have been better, but it happens” said Joel Embiid, whose squad will begin a four-game road trip Wednesday against the Bulls (34-37) at the United Center. “So you move on to the next one. You learn from it. And like I said, the biggest key [of the road trip] is staying together.”

The loss marked the first time Embiid lost to the Bulls in 13 games.

The MVP candidate finished with game highs of 37 points and 16 rebounds and three blocks before fouling out with 3 minutes, 54 seconds left in the second overtime. He scored 18 of his points in the third quarter.

The Sixers also got a solid performance from De’Anthony Melton. The reserve guard finished with 19 points while making 5 of 11 three-pointers. He also added four steals.

Tyrese Maxey had 22 points. James Harden had five points, 12 assists, and seven rebounds, but struggled through 2-of-14 shooting. The Sixers were also doomed by 21 turnovers, to Chicago’s 10. The Sixers did, however, own the boards, 54-42.

“The story of the game was turnovers and we really couldn’t get anything going, offensively, really the whole game” said Embiid, who had five.

Zach LaVine led the Bulls with 26 points, while DeMar DeRozan added 25. Nic Vucevic had 21 points, 12 rebounds, and four steals.

The game went into double-overtime after DeRozan misfired on a three-pointer before the overtime buzzer.

The Bulls had a 107-105 lead after LaVine hit a pair of foul shots with a 51.4 seconds left in double-overtime. The Sixers had chances to knot the score and take a lead. Harden had a layup attempt blocked by Chester native Derrick Jones Jr. with 14 seconds left. Tobias Harris grabbed the rebound, but missed a 13-foot jumper.

Jones then grabbed the rebound and passed to Coby White, who converted a pair of foul shots after being fouled by Harris.

Embiid had another MVP-caliber performance, making 11 of 22 shots and 15 of 17 free throws. This was his seventh consecutive game with multiple blocks.

The 7-foot-2, 280-pounder’s basketball IQ, combined with an understanding of angles and his ability to get fouled stands out the most to Bulls coach Billy Donovan.

“I think maybe Giannis is the guy in the league that gets to the free-throw line more than [Embiid] does,” Donovan said. Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo has attempted a league-best 12.6 foul shots compared to Embiid’s 11.9.

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Embiid “shoots threes, plays in the midrange, can play his back to the basket,” Donovan said, “but also has a good awareness of how to get others involved and pass the basketball.”

“I also think he probably doesn’t get enough credit in terms of his defense. ... He can really protect the rim in pick-and-roll. He can keep people in front of him and is a hard guy to finish over.”

Embiid had nine points on 3-for-5 shooting in the first quarter. He also made 3 of 4 foul shots. However, he scored just two points in the second quarter, making just a pair of foul shots. He missed both of his shot attempts. Embiid also had a layup wiped out after being called for an offensive foul late in the half.

Embiid followed up that poor second quarter by taking over the third quarter.

Danuel House Jr. got his second consecutive start with P.J. Tucker missing consecutive games after spraining his left ankle Friday against the Charlotte Hornets. House finished with four points, three rebounds, three assists, and a steal.

Tucker being unavailable didn’t come as a surprise. The power forward didn’t participate in Monday morning’s shootaround. And Erving, who attended the shootaround, said he didn’t think Tucker would play.

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“Honestly, I’m not thinking about P.J.,” head coach Doc Rivers said when asked where Tucker’s absence impacted the Sixers the most. “He didn’t play tonight. So I’m a lot more focused on the guys that did play. And so I can’t give an answer to that.”

This was the second time in four games that the Sixers had to overcome an abundance of turnovers. And just like when they committed 20 at Cleveland on Wednesday, several of Monday’s turnovers were unforced. At times, the Sixers were trying to be too fancy. They also had errant passes and were just careless with the ball.

“We didn’t get into much offense,” Rivers said. “Not that I saw. When we did get in it, we got good looks. We got some. We made some. I don’t think anybody is going to look at this game and think, either team, that this was an offensive juggernaut game. It was pretty ugly.”