The 76ers added a prestigious victory against one of the sensations of this start of the season. Doc Rivers’ men beat the Chicago Bulls 103-98 in a hard-fought game in which they were on the verge of letting an 18-point lead slip away. Those of Illinois went from less to more and ended up bordering on the comeback, but Philadelphia knew how to withstand the attacks and take a victory that leaves both teams tied for second place in the East with a balance of 6-2.
If Donovan’s team was so close to winning the game it was thanks to DeMar DeRozan, who continued his good form with a huge performance of 37 points and 10 rebounds. The guard was lethal in his search for the paint, from which he scored all his shots from the field, and was in charge of throwing his back on his back in many sections of the crash. However, when it seemed that ex-Spurs could pull off the feat, Seth Curry and Joel Embiid got in his way.
The point guard, the 76ers’ leading scorer with 22 points, managed a difficult basket on Caruso with 10 seconds left that put his team with a 102-98 advantage, giving them enough margin to breathe with some tranquility. In the next possession, DeRozan looked for a mate to close the gap quickly and look for the foul, but he found Embiid’s hand in his way, which was placed by a block that, although it was initially marked as a foul, was conceded after the pertinent revision. Joel, even without his most inspired version, had achieved some decisive actions in the last quarter that made him go up to 18 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists, but it was his defense that was responsible for closing the game.
The contribution of Georges Niang was also decisive for Rivers’ team, whose 18 points from the bench meant an extra score more than necessary in the absence of Tobias Harris and Danny Green. The power forward shone on the outside shot, scoring 4 triples in 8 attempts that hurt the visiting defense.
On the side of the Bulls, Zach LaVine was the other great figure of the meeting with 27 points, although he was not able to add any in the fourth quarter, which weighed on his performance. Lonzo Ball was the other member of the team in double digits, as he managed to score 13 points to which he added 5 assists, 5 rebounds and 3 steals.
(Portrait photo: Tim Nwachukwu / Getty Images)
