Bulls bounce back with win over 76ers
CHICAGO -- It was against a short-handed opponent with a poor record, but the Chicago Bulls weren't in position to quibble about their 121-108 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday night at the United Center.
After a tumultuous week that included back-to-back losses and a couple rounds of public finger-pointing, the Bulls (24-25) made sure they didn't leave for six-game road trip with a third straight defeat.
Chicago, which played without power forward Taj Gibson, took control late in the first quarter. The Bulls fought off a couple comeback bids and sealed the victory in the fourth against the Sixers, who played without rookie center Joel Embiid.
Jimmy Butler had 28 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, and Robin Lopez added 21 points and 10 rebounds for the Bulls, who had six players score in double figures. Doug McDermott and Dwyane Wade each finished with 14 points. Forwards Paul Zipser and Nikola Mirotic both chipped in 13 points off the bench.
Ersan Ilyasova led all scorers with a season-high 31 points for Philadelphia, which got 21 points and 12 rebounds from Robert Covington. The Sixers also got double-figure scoring from Nik Stauskas (15 points), T.J. McConnell (14 points, 12 assists) and Nerlens Noel (12 points), who started in place of Embiid.
The Sixers, who lost their second straight game, erased a 10-point deficit starting the third quarter to twice tie the game. The Bulls didn't let things snowball, outscoring Philadelphia 15-6 over the final 3:59 of the third to lead 96-87 starting the fourth.
Chicago took control of the game in the first. After the Bulls missed their first six shots of the game, falling behind 6-0, they fought back into the game and closed out the quarter on a 13-0 run to lead 37-23.
They pushed it to as much as 45-25 in the second, but the Sixers (17-29) chipped the deficit to as little as 63-57 thanks to Covington and Ilyasova, who combined for 26 points in the quarter.
NOTES: The Bulls played without PF Taj Gibson, who sat out Sunday with pain in his left ankle. Bobby Portis, who hadn't played the past four games as a coach's decision, replaced Gibson in the starting lineup and scored four points in 14 minutes. It was Portis' first start of the season. ... Chicago G Jimmy Butler and G Dwyane Wade were back in the starting lineup Sunday after not starting for disciplinary reasons in Friday's 100-88 loss to the Miami Heat. ... Philadelphia C Joel Embiid didn't make the trip to rest a sore knee. Embiid is expected to play in the finale of the Sixers' back-to-back set at home Monday against the Sacramento Kings. ... Philadelphia lost a 12th consecutive meeting against the Bulls and fell for the ninth time in a row in Chicago.