Taking every game down to the wire, you’re going to get burned at some point.
In a battle between the current two top teams in the Eastern Conference, the Sixers built a 24-point lead but collapsed in the second
half in a 113-111 loss to the Bulls in Chicago Tuesday night.
Tyrese Maxey had another offensive explosion, leading all scorers with 39 points along with five rebounds and five assists. Like everyone else on his team, he ran out the gas and couldn’t buy a jumper in the fourth. He shot 14-of-26 from the field but 2-of-8 in the fourth.
Still on his minutes restriction, Joel Embiid put up 20 points shooting 7-of-21 from the field. Kelly Oubre Jr. had 18 on 7-of-11 shooting.
In his return, also on limited minutes, Jared McCain, had just two assists and one rebound, missing all four shot attempts in 15:09 of action.
Here are some thoughts at the buzzer.
First Quarter
- Another game with a blazing start for the Sixers as they made their first five field goals to start the game. Oubre’s defense was also once again a helpful tone setter — he weaved around to poke free a steal which he turned into a fast break dunk. A few possessions later he flew out to the corner to block a Matas Buzelis three-point attempt.
- Basketball is a really easy sport when you make, like, all of your three-pointers as well. They made seven of their first 10 from beyond the arc — Maxey the driving force taking his first six shots from beyond the arc and making four of them. It didn’t matter if it was contested, open, off the catch or off the dribble, everything was falling early. The 45 points they scored in the first was a season high.
- Like the second half in Boston, the most positive sign may very well have been how comfortable Embiid looked and how well he was moving. He’s continued to look better protecting the rim. He was able to get out and block a Giddey layup. It’s easy to see in how much more he wants to do off the dribble offensively — drives and turnaround jumpers have been a lot more frequent. That minutes restriction certainly seems to be pushed out as he his first shift lasted 7:45 minutes. After he knocked down a couple at the line the Sixers led by 18 at quarter’s end.
Second Quarter
- McCain checked in for the first time with just under three minutes left in the first. It was an understandably quiet first shift. His first stat of the night was a generous assist as Grimes got all the way to the hoop for a tough layup. He missed his only three-point attempt. It didn’t much matter though given the heater Maxey was on. Maxey went from drilling threes in the first to scorching in the midrange to start the second. The in-between game is the last part for him to master offensively and he’s been really good at it some times this year. He wasn’t done from beyond the arc though, completing this absurd four-point play.
- This half from VJ Edgecombe was probably what a lot of people expected from him this early in his career — his process was good even if the results weren’t always there. Off the dribble he got to a few good looks near the basket, but missed his first six two-pointers of the game, and the hang shot he finally did get to go was really impressive. He was still plenty productive, hitting his first two three-pointers of the game, as well as pulling down five early rebounds, three on the offensive end.
- The Sixers were able to take advantage of a fairly undisciplined half from the Bulls, getting to the line 16 times. In comfortable, familiar, territory Embiid was the driving force in that, leading the team with six attempts. He fueled the offense to close the half, extinguishing the mini runs the Bulls were able to put together, helping Philly take a 19-point lead into the break.
Third Quarter
- The second half started much like how the first had gone, with the Sixers knocking down their jumpers at an absurd clip. Maxey quickly hit his sixth three of the game, dangerously chasing the Bulls as a team who had only made seven at the time. If there was one thing they had to watch out for, it’s that Oubre picked up his fourth foul early in the quarter.
- The sluggishness on offense the Sixers have played in third quarters did not show up, but their defensive woes did. Regardless of who was on the floor, they couldn’t contain anyone off the dribble and gave up a lot of easy baskets. Seven of the Bulls’ first nine field goals of the quarter came at the rim.
- A timeout after a 9-0 Bulls run was able to stop the bleeding, if only for a bit. The Sixers closed the quarter with their four-guard lineup, and it certainly seemed like they were trying to figure out each other. Maxey was able to sink another tough middy, putting the lead back up to 11 as the quarter closed.
Fourth Quarter
- It was a big test to stop the Bulls’ momentum to start the quarter as the Sixers did so with both Maxey and Embiid on the bench. While they were still shooting the ball well, they were sloppy taking care of the ball and it caught up with them. Early in the quarter Quentin Grimes committed the Sixers’ 14th turnover of the game, giving the Bulls their 29th fast break points of the game.
- They weren’t able to extend their lead back to double digits, but the Sixers were able to halt momentum momentarily by trading baskets for several minutes. Fittingly, it was pretty much all Maxey creating offense for himself. Embiid returned to the game with a seven-point lead with over five minutes to go, putting him on track to play a little over 25 minutes.
- It’s easy to say the Sixers shouldn’t have run as much as their offense through Embiid down the stretch because he wasn’t hitting the shots he was in the first half. They went to him a lot around the free throw line, but he missed his first five attempts of the quarter and turned the ball over. They went the last 6:26 without a field goal, which allowed the Bulls to make it a one-point game with just over a minute left.
- Grimes was able to get his hands on a deflected pass after another missed Embiid midrange, but a gassed Maxey airballed a three on the following possession. Giddey drove by Oubre and found Nik Vucevic for a corner three, giving the Bulls their first lead of the game with 3.2 seconds left. The Sixers’ ATO actually worked out well — Grimes got a wide-open three at the top of the key but he was too strong and the meltdown was completed.
