76ers Rally in Second and Never Look Back in 117–107 Bulls Loss
Despite a great first quarter and a solid fourth, the Bulls’ struggles in the middle of the game became irreparable.
Well. That was laborious.
In the afterglow of a 117-95 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday, the Bulls had an opportunity to distance themselves from their 10th-seed Motor City rivals, who fell to the Orlando Magic 115-87 earlier in the night. A Bulls win would have also inched them closer to the eighth-seed Miami Heat, who held a one-game lead entering Friday night’s game.
Things started off just fine for the Bulls, who stormed to a 16-6 lead in the game’s first minutes. Nikola Mirotic was notably efficient, dropping 10 points and shooting 3-of-4 from beyond the arc in the first. The 76ers chipped away, but after one the Bulls held a 28-24 lead.
The wheels fell off from there. Sergio Rodriguez and Dario Saric took charge for the 76ers in the second, and in the blink of an eye, they were well ahead on the scoreboard. The 76ers outscored the Bulls 35-18 in the second quarter, taking a 59-46 lead with them into halftime.
Not only were the 76ers beating the Bulls, but they were practically annihilating them in significant areas: field goal percentage (58 percent to 33 percent), bench points (35-9) and points in the paint (40-16), to rattle off a few.
It didn’t get a whole lot better from there. The 76ers started the third quarter 11-of-12 from the field and soon led the Bulls 67-47, resulting in loud boos raining down from the depths of United Center.
The Bulls got a jolt entering the fourth, and soon they were just down 101-90. Anthony Morrow provided a spark off the bench in a rare appearance, dropping 10 points in the Bulls’ comeback effort and helping them stay in it. Despite the Bulls’ best efforts late, it was too late, as Dario Saric led his squad to a 117-107 victory.
Jimmy Butler logged a double-double on the night, scoring 36 and dishing out 10 assists; he also collected seven boards. Bobby Portis (17) and Nikola Mirotic (15) made their mark on the box score, and Anthony Morrow dropped 10 points, the most he’s scored in a Bulls uniform to date.
Dario Saric scored 32 points and grabbed 10 boards of his own, with Shawn Long behind him with 18 points. Sergio Rodriguez, an integral part of the 76ers’ second quarter run, dropped 12 with seven assists.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some actually inspired basketball to watch in the Kentucky/UCLA game. Lonzo vs. Monk? That’s the good stuff.
