The Sixers kept their early-season rhythm intact Sunday, outlasting the Bulls 127-121 to finish a 2-1 road trip and move to 9-2. Chicago dropped to 1-8.
It was a night where the scoring came from everywhere for Philadelphia. Every starter finished in double figures, and three of them cleared 20 points: Jaylen Brown with 29, Tyrese Maxey with 27 and LeBron James with 22. Joel Embiid added 18 points and 10 rebounds, while Josh Giddey led the Bulls with 19 points, 15 assists and seven rebounds.
Philadelphia played without Adem Bona, who is dealing with a cervical spine sprain, Dominick Barlow because of a lower back stress reaction and Ariel Hukporti with a right Achilles tendon tear. Chicago was missing Norman Powell, sidelined by right shoulder inflammation/soreness, and Zach Collins, who had a respiratory illness.
The Sixers are now headed home for Tuesday night’s matchup with the Celtics.
Embiid’s night started slowly after his 0-for-9 outing Friday against the Cavaliers. His first attempt Sunday was a wide-open three that missed badly, and he also came up empty on a post look against Jalen Smith. He finally got on the board at the 6:42 mark of the first quarter by tipping in his own miss, but Smith answered with a three on the next trip to push Chicago ahead 23-16.
James had a shaky opening stretch with two early turnovers, though he also knocked down a corner three in a fast-moving first quarter. VJ Edgecombe chipped in with two deep jumpers, and despite Philadelphia’s minus-9.6 net rating in first quarters entering the day - 27th in the NBA - the Sixers managed to take a one-point lead after the opening 12 minutes.
The glass was where Philadelphia made a real difference early. The Sixers piled up 17 second-chance points in the first quarter, with Embiid grabbing four offensive rebounds in that frame alone.
Jabari Walker, filling in as the backup center for the second straight game without Bona, kept that edge going. He finished with seven rebounds, including three on the offensive end, and gave Philadelphia a valuable first stint.
Walker’s work on the boards stood out. At 6-foot-7, he’s undersized for the position, but he played bigger than that Sunday, using his 237-pound frame, physicality and nose for the ball to win contested rebounds.
Philadelphia’s offense kept humming in the second quarter as well. James built his way to 16 first-half points, Embiid knocked down a couple of mid-range jumpers and Maxey’s two free throws helped put the Sixers up 60-50 late in the period.
Chicago briefly made it interesting after halftime. A Matas Buzelis three tied the game at 68 early in the third, but the Bulls couldn’t hold that momentum.
Their defense continued to struggle, and the Sixers kept finding answers. Brown buried a turnaround jumper to stretch the lead into double digits, and Walker followed with a top-of-the-key three to make it a 12-point game.
Philadelphia had a pair of injury scares later on. Brown went to the sideline with 6:55 left in the third but stayed in the game. Edgecombe headed to the locker room after checking out at the 9:08 mark of the fourth quarter, then returned to the bench and eventually came back for one final stint.
The Bulls still made the finish uncomfortable. Rookie Caleb Wilson cut the margin to 116-113 with a three, forcing Nick Nurse to call timeout.
But the Sixers handled the closing stretch well enough. Embiid scored on a put-back and added two free throws, Maxey drilled a step-back three after a wraparound pass from James, and Philadelphia stayed clean at the line to close out the win.
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