CHICAGO — This was a somewhat ugly outing for the 76ers.
They blew a 19-point lead. James Harden struggled mightily from the field. It took Tyrese Maxey a long time to find his rhythm due to early foul trouble. And Joel Embiid missed a pair of foul shots with 61 seconds remaining in a tied game.
Yet the Sixers walked out of the United Center Saturday night with a cherished 114-109 victory thanks to Embiid’s late heroics. The All-Star center shook off the missed foul shots and buried a 25-foot three-pointer with 18.1 seconds left. Then on the ensuing possession, he made a defensive play at the rim to alter an opponent’s shot.
After a P.J. Tucker turnover and an Alex Caruso missed three-pointer, Tobias Harris iced the game with a pair of foul shots with 4 seconds left.
This marked a second victory in as many nights after starting 1-4, taking the Sixers’ record to 3-4.
Embiid paced the team with 25 points after missing Friday’s 112-90 victory over the Toronto Raptors at Scotiabank Arena. Georges Niang was a spark off the bench, scoring 15 points while making 3 of 4 three-pointers.
But the Sixers had their share of flaws.
They committed 19 turnovers that lead to 29 points.
Harden made just 2 of 13 shots while finishing with 15 points and 11 assists. Tyrese Maxey had 14 points on 5-for-14 shooting one night after scoring a career-high 44 points against the Raptors. And they had no answers for Bulls center Nik Vucevic, who finished with 23 points and 19 rebounds. He also made 5 of 7 three-pointers.
Rotation change
For the second consecutive night, Matisse Thybulle was the Sixers’ sixth man. However, the big change came when Shake Milton entered the game ahead of struggling Danuel House Jr., who came into the game shooting just 20.3% on three-pointers.
Another change was the Sixers’ decision to go to an all-bench lineup of Milton, Thybulle, Montrezl Harrell, Georges Niang and De’Anthony Melton during the final 2 minutes, 44 seconds of the first quarter and the first 1:05 of the second quarter.
That group went on a 13-3 run to give the Sixers a 39-22 early in the second quarter. Thybulle picked up his third foul with 1:05 into the second quarter and was replaced by Maxey. But House replaced Maxey with 8:13 left in the half.
A game of runs
The Sixers had a commanding 19-point lead in the second quarter. However, the Bulls went on an 18-2 run to pull within three points (56-53) with 1:41 before intermission.
After the teams exchanged three-pointers, the Sixers scored the final five points of the half to weather the storm. Melton had a layup followed by a P.J. Tucker three-pointer to give them an eight-point cushion at the break.
However, the Bulls went on another run in the third quarter. This time, it was a 17-4 effort that gave them an 81-76 cushion with 4:15 left in the third quarter.
Chicago (3-3) wasn’t alone in this game or runs.
The Sixers regained the lead and had a 95-90 cushion with 21.9 seconds left in the third quarter thanks to a 14-4 sprint.
