CHICAGO — As Georges Niang’s three-pointer from the right wing fell through the net, Joel Embiid raised both arms into the air.
In a duel between two players who will represent the Eastern Conference as starters at All-Star Weekend in two weeks, the 76ers’ superstar could finally celebrate.
The Sixers got 40 points from Embiid and survived a 45-point effort from DeMar DeRozan to clinch a 119-108 win Sunday afternoon at the United Center.
It was a significant regular-season victory for the Sixers, who snapped a two-game losing skid and moved to 3-0 against a Bulls team that entered Sunday leading the Eastern Conference standings.
The Sixers built a 15-point lead and, unlike Friday’s loss at Dallas, withstood any Chicago rally attempt.
When the Bulls trimmed the Sixers’ lead to 61-56 early in the third quarter, Seth Curry and Tyrese Maxey hit back-to-back three-pointers, before Danny Green added his own shot from beyond the arc to push their advantage back to 70-58. Later, when a floater by DeRozan got the Bulls within 85-81, the Sixers answered with a 13-0 run punctuated by a steal and transition finish by Harris to extend their lead up to a game-high 17 points.
Then after the Bulls’ own surge to quickly slice that advantage to 102-98, Harris answered with an and-1 jumper and free throw and Embiid scored on three consecutive Sixers possessions to push the lead back to 111-103 with less than five minutes to play.
Both teams hovered around 50% shooting from the floor, though the Sixers went 12-of-24 from three-point range while the Bulls made just seven of their 26 shots from beyond the arc.
Efficient Embiid
After shooting a combined 18-of-44 from the floor during the Sixers’ past two losses, Embiid’s efficiency returned in a 14-of-23 afternoon against the Bulls. He also went 10-of-11 from the free-throw line and pulled down 10 rebounds.
His fourth-quarter performance propelled the Sixers across the finish line. After the Bulls had gotten within 100-96, he hit a step-back jumper. Then he got to the basket twice for a driving layup and dunk. Another jumper extended the Sixers’ lead to 111-103 with less than five minutes to play.
He went 5-for-5 from the floor for 12 points in the game’s first five minutes. Almost immediately after returning in the second quarter, he converted an and-1 and got past Nikola Vucevic to drive baseline for a dunk. He then hit a deep fadeaway jumper in the first half’s final minute.
Embiid added an and-1 finish after the Bulls had gotten the Sixers’ led down to 70-63, before hitting jumper through contact and the free throw to complete the old-fashioned three-point play. He also found Harris for a powerful and-1 dunk that got the Sixers’ players on the bench out of their seats in celebration.
(Trying to) guard DeRozan
That the Bulls were without All-Star Zach LaVine eased the blow of the Sixers missing defensive standout Matisse Thybulle, who aggravated his shoulder during Friday’s loss at Dallas.
But the Sixers still needed to guard DeRozan, who largely carved up those defenders while finishing 18-of-30 from the floor.
Danny Green, starting in place of Thybulle, began the game on DeRozan and was back on him at the end of the second quarter and at the start of the fourth. Harris held that responsibility for significant stretches during the second and third quarters and during crunch time. Maxey and Furkan Korkmaz were also used in brief spurts when Harris and Green rested. Two-way wing Charlie Brown Jr. even got a one-minute stint on DeRozan late in the first quarter, but immediately picked up a foul upon checking in.
During the last meeting between these two teams, Paul Reed — who is currently on assignment with the G League’s Delaware Blue Coats — did an excellent job as the primary defender on DeRozan.
Korkmaz returns
In his return from a three-game absence due to knee soreness, Korkmaz finished with nine points on 3-of-8 shooting while running the point with the second unit.
Perhaps his most important shot was a jumper during the Sixers’ 13-0 run, which extended their lead to 91-81 in the opening minute of the fourth quarter.
He made two of his five shots in the first half, a corner three-pointer and a cutting layup in the second quarter. He also dished a nice pass to Andre Drummond for a dunk during that period.
With Korkmaz back, second-year guard Isaiah Joe was limited to five first-half minutes.
Clock Gate
Less than 48 hours after a crooked rim caused a 43-minute first-quarter delay during the Sixers’ loss at Dallas, the game and shot clocks on top of each basket in Chicago did not work Sunday afternoon.
Clocks instead were placed on opposite corners of the court. The public-address announcer also gave a cue when 10 seconds remained on the shot clock, then counted down from five seconds.
