De’Anthony Melton scored 25 points and Tyrese Maxey chipped in 21 as the visiting Philadelphia 76ers routed the Chicago Bulls 116-91 on Wednesday night for their ninth victory in 10 games.
Philadelphia (49-23) led by as many as 31 points in the third quarter on the way to avenging a double-overtime home loss to Chicago two nights earlier. The defeat snapped a three-game winning streak for the Bulls (34-38).
Tobias Harris had 20 points, nine rebounds and eight assists for Philadelphia while swishing three 3-pointers, one behind Maxey and Melton for the team lead.
Joel Embiid added 12 points, seven rebounds and seven assists in 16-plus minutes for Philadelphia. Embiid did not return to the team bench for the second half.
An initial report indicated the team elected to rest Embiid (mild calf tightness) as Philadelphia played its fourth game in six days. The team was beginning a four-game road trip, with three more games in four days on the West Coast.
Chicago leading scorer DeMar DeRozan sustained a right quad strain and did not return after leaving the game in the third quarter. He scored four points, all on free throws.
Coby White paced the Bulls with 19 points, while Zach LaVine followed with 16. Andre Drummond notched a double-double of 13 points and 12 rebounds, and Ayo Dosunmu (14 points) and Derrick Jones Jr. (10) also scored in double figures.
Georges Niang added 11 points for the 76ers.
Philadelphia surged to a 76-48 lead at the half. Balanced scoring boosted the 76ers, who went 12-for-22 from 3-point range.
The offense wasn’t much better. The Bulls missed their first seven attempts from the floor while falling behind 17-0 after the first 3:13 of the game. Nikola Vucevic’s dunk at the 6:34 mark of the quarter was Chicago’s first field goal of the night, and pulled the hosts to within 23-5.
The 76ers earned a two-all split of the season series, preventing the Bulls from winning the series from Philadelphia for the first time since 2016-17.
James Harden (Achilles soreness) missed the game for the 76ers.
–Field Level Media
