Sixers takeaways: Bulls target Joel Embiid’s defense, Tyrese Maxey’s offense in 109-102 loss

CHICAGO — Joel Embiid scored the ball with ease but didn’t do much else.

Tyrese Maxey shot poorly, then got hot before regressing down the stretch.

And Paul George continued to be an asset for the 76ers, even when he struggles to make shots. But his teammates didn’t continue to feed him the ball once he finally got hot.

Those things stood out in Friday’s 109-102 loss to the Chicago Bulls at the United Center.

Embiid had one of his best offensive performances of the season and finished with 31 points on 10-for-19 shooting to go with five rebounds, one assist, and a block. The 7-foot-2 center made two of his four three-pointers and all nine of his foul shots. He did all of that while noticeably limited by his ailing right knee.

Embiid gingerly ran up and down the court. The 2023 league MVP also grabbed his knee while grimacing in pain on the three occasions he fell to the floor. That has been the case on most nights that Embiid plays.

The seven-time All-Star struggled mightily on defense. He didn’t show much lateral movement and constantly appeared to be out of position. As a result, the Bulls’ post players feasted on him. Embiid didn’t have the quickness to come out and contest shots, nor was he able to prevent anyone from getting to the rim.

“I don’t know about that,” coach Nick Nurse said when a reporter pointed out Embiid’s defensive struggles. “I got to look at that first [on film]. I thought he had some really good possessions by him defensively. But let me look at the film first before I comment. I don’t think that.”

This appears to be the version of Embiid the Sixers (16-13) will have to live with.

But he stepped up offensively after the Bulls knotted the score at 96 with 5 minutes, 11 seconds remaining. Embiid drained a pair of foul shots to give the Sixers a two-point cushion 10 seconds later. Then on their next possession, he assisted on Maxey’s layup that made it a 100-96 game.

But after scoring a layup, Embiid was dunked on at the other end. On the Bulls’ next possession, Coby White shot a three-pointer over Embiid to give the Bulls a 104-102 advantage with 1:54 to go.

None of this was surprising as Chicago (15-15) was attacking him on screen-and-roll plays all night.

For a minute, it appeared that Maxey would have his second straight horrid shooting night.

He couldn’t find his rhythm while struggling through 3-for-14 shooting in Tuesday’s loss to the Brooklyn Nets. He continued where he left off in the first quarter of Friday’s game, scoring three points on 1-for-7 shooting.

A lot of his early issues were because of the Bulls’ defense.

The standout point guard drew two and three defenders and had a tough time getting to his preferred spots on the floor.

But Maxey made his first three shots while scoring nine points on 3-for-4 shooting in the second quarter. He did the same thing in the third, adding nine more points while making 3 of 4 shots. The 2024 All-Star’s persistence is why he’s an All-NBA candidate.

Then came the fourth quarter, when he had six points on 2-for-9 shooting as the Sixers faded. Maxey finished with 27 points, eight assists, and two blocks.

George made solid contributions, even though it took the forward a while to find his shooting touch. He played solid defense, grabbed rebounds, and initiated the offense while recording 15 points, 12 rebounds, and five assists. George shot 5-for-15 — including going 4-of-9 on three-pointers.

He was held to three points on 1-for-5 shooting while missing both of his three-point attempts before intermission. George got going in the third quarter, when he made three huge three-pointers and had nine points.

He made a three-pointer at the start of the fourth quarter to give the Sixers a seven-point cushion. The nine-time All-Star then missed two shot attempts before subbing out with 6:41 left.

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However, he didn’t attempt a shot after reentering the game with 5:26 remaining.

Would Nurse like to see George more involved in the fourth quarter after his solid third period?

“Yeah, for sure,” he said. “I think that we certainly got him going in the third. Tried to stagger some different guys in there to do just that. He was giving on defense there. He was really playing hard and was doing a lot at both ends, obviously on the boards, everything, yeah.

“Yeah, I would have liked to see him get a few shots. But I don’t feel like there was any real horrendous possession. … I can think about some wide-open shots and some shots at the rim. We just didn’t finish them.”

But what did George see late in the game? Did the Bulls have a defense centered on denying him the ball? Why was he was unable to get involved?

“I just think it was the actions,” George said. “You know, I wasn’t in the actions. Yeah, that’s just kind of how it played out at the end.”

In any sport, the cardinal rule is to feed the hot hand. The Sixers didn’t do that, and it contributed to their loss.

But if there’s a positive, it’s that George continues to show that he can do many things to make an impact.