Fourth quarter struggles continue in Bulls loss to Sixers |
CHICAGO - Despite how bad the Chicago Bulls (19-27) have been playing lately, they still hold one of the final two Play-In spots in the Eastern Conference. They may not be the case much longer should they continue to play this way as they lost yet another home game at the United Center to fall to 8-16 at home.
This time, it came against a reeling Philadelphia Sixers (17-27) team that was not only short-handed but was coming off a win the night before and was on their second leg of back-to-back-to-back. That alone made this one of those games that the Bulls needed to have, but to come into the United Center without Joel Embiid made this a game that the Bulls should've had. Through three quarters, the Bulls played well enough to win this game as they held an 83-80 lead through three. That was on the heel of a massive third that saw the Bulls outscore the Sixers 30-20 after trailing by seven at the break. It was the fourth quarter that did the Bulls in as they were not only held to 14 points for one of their worst fourth-quarter showings of the season but allowed 29 points on the defensive end to fall 109-97. Tyrese Maxey played a massive role in the Sixers' success as he connected on five triples to finish with a game-high 31 points and now has five 30-point games in his last 10. Chicago did their best to keep pace with him most of the night as Zach Lavine and Nikola Vucevic did their part on the floor. Lavine has slowed down a bit from the pace he was on a month ago, but with 25 points to lead the Bulls, he continues to deliver on the floor. Vucevic bounced back from one of his worst showings of the season at Golden State and responded with 22 points and 12 boards as he continues to increase his trade value. Those were the only two players to drop more than 15 points, and as has been the case most of the season, wins are tough to come by when that happens. Josh Giddey didn't have his best game, but with 10 points and 10 boards, he continues to do all the little things that often go overlooked. Lonzo Ball continued to fill in for the injured Coby White and added nine points, with Patrick Williams putting up two points. When it comes to the Bulls bench, they had plenty of points scattered across the board, with Jalen Smith (9 points) and Ayo Dosunmu (8 points) leading the way. Matas Buzelis chipped in with six points as the Bulls offense started to hit a brick wall. Anytime you get a short-handed Sixers without Embiid, it's an opportunity you can't let go to waste, but when they can get the production they got out of several guys, they can still be a formidable team. Along with another massive Maxey game, you had Kelly Oubre Jr. making his best Embiid impression to finish with 22 points and 12 boards. Like the Bulls, those were the only two players to finish with more than 15 points, as scoring was often an issue for both teams. Despite Paul George coming out with seven of his team's first 11 points, he finished with nine points as the Bulls did a great job taking him out of the equation. Eric Gordon came up clutch, especially in the fourth, to finish with 13 points as he was the final starter to land in double figures. The Sixers bench was very similar to the Bulls bench, although they had one guy who made a difference. That belongs to Reggie Jackson, who connected for a pair of triples to finish with 12 points and continues to have a great year. Neither team shot the ball well from deep, but the Sixers hit those shots when they needed a big shot. The loss pushed the Bulls farther into the Central Division basement and saw their advantage over the Sixers shrink to one game for the playoff spot. Things aren't going to get any easier for the Bulls as they host Denver on Monday before opening a three-game road trip at Boston.
