Sixers-Bulls best & worst: Furkan Korkmaz’s sharpshooting, Philly playing six on five, Kris Dunn’s woes
Matisse Thybulle also had another solid defensive performance, finishing with a game-high three blocks to go with two steals.
Here is my look at some of the best and worst performances from the 76ers’ 100-89 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Friday night at the Wells Fargo Center.
Best performance: It would be foolish to give this award to anyone besides Furkan Korkmaz. The third-year reserve guard had his best game as a Sixer. He scored a career-high 24 points on 8-for-11 shooting, including making a career-high six three-pointers in nine attempts. Korkmaz made four consecutive three-pointers and added a pair of foul shots in a 3-minute, 8-second stretch during the third quarter.
Worst performance: This is a tough one. But I had to select one from three worthy candidates. I’m giving it to Chicago guard Kris Dunn. The former Providence standout missed all three of his shot attempts en route to being held scoreless. He also had more turnovers (three) than assists (two) in 15 minutes, 19 seconds of action.
Best defensive performance: This goes to Matisse Thybulle, even though Zach LaVine showed a couple of flashes against him. The Sixers rookie finished with a game-high three blocks to go with two steals to win this award for the second straight game. LaVine scored a team-high 23 points, but he did so on 9-for-20 shooting, missing all seven of his three-point attempts.
Worst statistic: I had to give it to the Chicago’s three-point shooting. The Bulls made just 8 of 35 or 22.9%.
Best statistic: This goes to the Sixers’ foul shooting. They shot 100% (11-for-11) from the line.
Worst of the worst: This goes to the Sixers having six men on the court. The blunder drew a technical foul and wiped out Korkmaz’s three-pointer with 3:02 left in the first quarter. Kyle O’Quinn and Tobias Harris both tried to rush off the floor before the referees noticed. Simmons, Korkmaz, Josh Richardson, and Mike Scott were on the court with O’Quinn and Harris.
Best of the best: I gave this to the Korkmaz scoring 14 points during a 3:08 third-quarter stretch. That basically put the game out of reach for the Bulls.