Two teams desperate to end long losing streaks collide Monday when the Philadelphia 76ers host the Chicago Bulls.
Philadelphia enters the week having lost seven games in a row, while Chicago is aiming to snap a six-game slide. Despite the teams’ rough play of late, they are both on the fringe of postseason contention in the Eastern Conference, as the Bulls sit in 10th place — the final spot of the play-in tournament — while the Sixers are two games out of 10th.
Of course, neither team can be counted on to make any noise in the postseason unless things start to improve in a hurry.
The Sixers lost 105-103 to the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday. Tyrese Maxey hit the tying 3-pointer with 22 seconds left before Brooklyn’s Nic Claxton put in an offensive rebound at the buzzer.
“It’s tough,” Philadelphia guard Quentin Grimes said. “That’s one of the games that we felt like we should’ve won.”
Meanwhile, Chicago has lost a pair of tight contests since returning from the All-Star break. The Bulls fell 113-111 in overtime on the road against the New York Knicks on Thursday before dropping a 121-117 decision to the Phoenix Suns on Saturday.
In the setback against Phoenix, Josh Giddey paced the Bulls with 24 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds. Coby White chipped in 20 points and eight assists, while Nikola Vucevic added 16 points and 11 rebounds.
All things considered, though, Chicago coach Billy Donovan was pleased with his team’s performance.
“The New York game and this game, at the rim there’s more presence and being aggressive at the point of attack,” Donovan said. “We are trying to do those things. I’m happy and pleased with the way the guys are competing and battling; I really am.”
Rookie Matas Buzelis scored 15 points in 24 minutes.
Buzelis is averaging just 6.5 points per game, although he has scored in double figures in nine of his past 10 contests. Giddey, meanwhile, is averaging 25.5 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists over his past two games.
On the Sixers’ side, Grimes has scored in double figures in all six games since joining the team in a trade with Dallas Mavericks. He also has pulled down at least seven rebounds in five consecutive outings.
Joel Embiid, on the other hand, is 7-of-22 from the field in the past two games as he clearly is struggling to play through a knee ailment. He was benched in the fourth quarter on Saturday night.
“He’s giving us what he can. He’s not himself; we all know that,” Sixers coach Nick Nurse said. “He’s not certainly the guy we’re used to seeing play at a super-high level. I commend him for giving us what he can.”
Nurse said he kept Embiid on the bench because the five players on the court were playing well.
“They had a good feel for the game at that point,” Nurse said. “Just wanted to let them roll with it.”
Embiid declined to comment after the game.
