De’Anthony Melton scored 25 points and Tyrese Maxey added 21 as the Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Chicago Bulls 116-91 on the road on Wednesday night for their ninth win in 10 contests.
Philadelphia (49-23) led by as many as 31 points in the third quarter on route to avenging a home setback to Chicago in double-overtime two nights prior. The loss ended the Bulls’ three-game winning run (34-38).
Sixers beat Bulls 9th time in 10
Tobias Harris scored 20 points, grabbed nine rebounds, and dished out eight assists for Philadelphia. He also made three 3-pointers, behind Maxey and Melton by one.
Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid contributed 12 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists in over 16 minutes of action. Embiid did not return to the bench for the second half of the game.
Embiid (minor calf stiffness) was reportedly rested for Philadelphia’s fourth game in six days. The club was beginning a four-game road trip on the West Coast, with three more games in four days.
DeMar DeRozan, the top scorer for Chicago, had a right quad injury in the third quarter and did not return. Four of his four points came from free throws.
Coby White led the Bulls in scoring with 19 points, followed by Zach LaVine with 16. Ayo Dosunmu (14 points) and Derrick Jones Jr. (10) also scored in double digits, along with Andre Drummond (13 points and 12 rebounds).
The 76ers received 11 points from Georges Niang.
During the break, Philadelphia’s lead was 76-48. The 76ers were aided by their balanced scoring, as they shot 12-for-22 from 3-point range.
The offensive was hardly superior. The Bulls missed their first seven field goal tries and trailed 17-0 with 3:13 remaining in the first quarter. The dunk by Nikola Vucevic at 6:34 of the third quarter was Chicago’s first field goal of the game and brought the home team to within 23-5.
The 76ers split the season series with the Bulls, keeping Chicago from defeating Philadelphia for the first time since 2016-17.
James Harden missed the game because to Achilles tendonitis.
