Bulls at 76ers
THE STORY: The Philadelphia 76ers lead the NBA in scoring defense and have been one of the few teams this season to have success stopping Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls. The 76ers handed Chicago a 98-82 loss in Philadelphia on Feb. 1, with Rose held to 18 points on 8-for-17 shooting. The Bulls have only lost twice in the 14 games since and are currently riding a five-game winning streak heading into Philly. The 76ers have not beaten a team with a winning record since Feb. 6 but may have broken out of the slump with a blowout win on Friday.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, ESPN, CSP (Philadelphia), CSNC (Chicago)
ABOUT THE BULLS (30-8): Chicago is second to Philadelphia in the NBA in scoring defense and has not allowed a team to reach 100 points in any of the last seven games. After leaning on Rose to pull out a win at San Antonio on Wednesday, Luol Deng stepped up with 24 points as the Bulls crushed the Cleveland Cavaliers 112-91 on Friday. Deng, who missed the meeting with Philadelphia due to a sprained wrist, has been on fire from long range, shooting 6 for 7 over the last two games. He is just under 50 percent (30 for 61) from beyond the arc since returning from the injury.
ABOUT THE 76ERS (22-15): Philadelphia stumbled into the All-Star break having lost five straight but has won two of three since. After topping out at 91 points during the slide, the 76ers reach the century mark on Friday for the first time since a 103-83 win over the Washington Wizards on Jan. 23. Lou Williams led the way with 25 points in the 105-83 victory over Golden State on Friday, as Philadelphia celebrated the 50th anniversary of Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-point game by going over 100 as a team.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. The 76ers have taken three straight in the series.
2. Williams has scored 219 fourth-quarter points this season – the third-best mark in the NBA behind Kobe Bryant and Kevin Durant.
3. Rose has averaged 21.7 points and 6.8 assists in 12 career games against Philadelphia.