Ugly second quarter looms large in Bulls loss to Sixers |
CHICAGO—Leave it to the Chicago Bulls (10-15) to make even some of the worst teams in the league look good at times. Coming off a loss to the Indiana Pacers on Friday, in which the Bulls imploded during the second quarter, Chicago returned to the United Center as they welcomed in the struggling Philadelphia Sixers (7-15).
This is a team that has been dealing with issues, but have also bee dealing with internal issues as things haven't sunshine and roses in the City of Brotherly Love. However, sometimes all it takes is for one game to change the direction of a season, and Sunday could be that game for Philadelphia as they came into the Windy City and knocked off the Bulls 108-100. Once again, this was a night where the Bulls handled things most of the way, and that all started with an impressive first quarter that saw them leading 33-23. Looking further into the second half, the Bulls outscored the Sixers in both the third and fourth quarters as they held a +14 advantage in those quarters. However, there are four quarters in a basketball game, and the Bulls forgot about that as another ugly second quarter was the difference in this one, with the Bulls getting outscored 39-17 in that quarter. That makes two games in a row that has seen that happen, and the Bulls aren't good enough to overcome sluggish quarters like that. Through all the bad that went into the game, there were some positives, with one revolving around Zach Lavine, who put together another great night with 30 points. Anytime you can get that type of production from Lavine, you know your offense will be in a great position, but this was one of those games where the offense was an issue. Even with Lavine going off for 30 and five players landing in double figures, he was the only one with more than 15 points, as scoring was an issue for the Chicago offense. Nikola Vucevic and Coby White both went through their ugly stretches at times and finished with the second-highest point total with 13. Ayo Dosunmu may not have shot the ball a ton, but he was very efficient, going 3-6 from the field to finish with 10 points, as he was the final starter in double figures. Looking at the Bulls bench, which has played a bigger role in recent weeks, Jalen Smith was the only one having a great game. He finished with 11 points and four rebounds. Apart from that, it was the Bulls' offense that let them down in this one. This was one of their better defensive showings, apart from that second quarter. Even with all the issues surrounding the Sixers this season, Joel Embiid typically puts up big numbers against this team when he plays. This was another one of those games where he led all scorers with 31 points and pulled down 12 rebounds. Philadelphia will need him to play like that the rest of the season if they have any chance to turn their season around, and this was a step in the right direction. One of the more improved players the past two seasons has been Tyrese Maxey who earned the honor last season. All Maxey has done since then is build off his strong showing from last season, and with 25 points to back Embiid, that duo was far too much for the Bulls to handle. Scoring wasn't the only thing Maxey was doing as he picked up 11 rebounds and 14 assists for his first triple-double of the season and continues to emerge as the team's best overall player. While those two may have been the Sixers' go-to options, Philadelphia also had five players in double figures, but none of the other three topped 15 points. Credit the Bulls' defense for that, as they held Paul George to 12 points, along with Kelly Oubre Jr., who also had 12. Oubre did manage to pick up 10 rebounds to give the Sixers three players with at least a double-double and that is a rarity in today's game. Rounding out the Sixers' strong showings was rookie Jared McCain, who knocked down three triples off the bench as part of his 11-point day. With the loss, Chicago is now a season-worst five games under .500, and things could get worse before they get better. The Bulls will get plenty of rest as they won't play again until next Friday against the Charlotte Hornets.
