CHICAGO -- The Philadelphia 76ers finished their 3-game road trip with a 127-121 win over the Chicago Bullson Sunday afternoon to go 2-1 on the trip. The Sixers are now 9-2 on the season after handling business against a rebuilding, but scrappy Bulls team in a hostile United Center.
LeBron James had 22 points, five rebounds, and five assists for Philadelphia while Tyrese Maxey had 27 points and seven assists, and Jaylen Brown had 29 points, seven rebounds, and four assists. Joel Embiid had 18 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists, and VJ Edgecombe had 13 and six rebounds. Jabari Walker was fantastic off the bench with nine and 11 boards and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope added six, six rebounds, and three assists.
Here are the three biggest takeaways
following the win:
Big night for Walker
Of Walker's 11 rebounds, five of them were on the offensive glass. He was fantastic in a number of ways for the Sixers and he gave them a big spark. One could argue Philadelphia doesn't win this game unless Walker steps in and provides the lift he gave on the glass. He created so many extra possessions for the Sixers, and even if he didn't grab the offensive rebound himself, he tapped it away in order to keep it away from the Bulls and allow his teammates to crash and come up with the ball. This is the perfect night for a backup center and his team certainly appreciated his efforts against Chicago.
"He’s continuing to do kind of the same thing," said coach Nick Nurse. "He’s playing hard. He had five offensive rebounds and probably another five near misses. When he’s in there, it’s such a hard defensive rebound for them, it slows transition. So those are like, kind of, impactful plays too. And again, finishing at the basket, and throwing in a 3. They are very very good minutes."
James' big second quarter
After such a miserable game in Cleveland on Friday, James responded in a big way in this one with the season-high in points. The future Hall of Famer helped Philadelphia seize control of the game in the second when he scored 13 points on 5-for-9 shooting, including knocking down two triples, and just imposing his will on the game the way James has done so many times in his career. He has taken a step back with his scoring a bit as he looks to fit in with his new team, but James gave a big lift against the Bulls on Sunday.
"I’m happy he started the game that way," Nurse stated. "He got the jump ball and went down down there and took it to the rim. He didn’t score, but, he made an aggressive play. But, I think his mindset was to impact the game, not let it come to him, and kind of take the game, take himself to the game right away. He kind of kept it going, as the game went on he had a few really tough drives, as the game went on, he had a couple of awesome drives for pass outs that we hit shots on too."
Embiid's confidence level
On paper, Embiid had a good night. A stat line of 18 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists is always helpful, but the big fella shot 0-for-2 from deep as he has fallen to 3-for-30 on 3-pointers to begin the season. He also shot 7-for-19 on the night and a majority of those makes were on putbacks. He even passed up an open 3-pointer, which is not very Embiid-like. It was a solid Embiid night and he certainly played well, but the 2023 MVP winner needs to find his groove and his rhythm again as he continues on with the season. He is a big key to the team's success.
"I think that his perimeter shooting, his confidence is a little low there, I thought he really battled on the glass," Nurse said on Embiid. "He got a few in the pocket, which seemed that’s where most of his damage is being done right now. He did get a couple in at the basket too, but they were pretty big and long and athletic around him a few times too. But, I think he had some good effort plays as well."
This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: 3 biggest takeaways for Sixers following trip finale win over Bulls
