Steady for one possession, shaky during the next.
So it goes for the Chicago Bulls, who have lost six of seven games entering Saturday night’s visit from the Philadelphia 76ers, who snapped a seven-game skid Friday night.
Chicago holds a two-game edge on Philadelphia for 10th place in the Eastern Conference but would rather climb the postseason ladder than teeter from the lowest rung.
While the Bulls can point to victories against East contenders Boston and New York on their resume, they’re also coming off Thursday’s 25-point loss at Golden State, a team on the West playoff bubble.
“Definitely frustrating being a competitor knowing we’ve shown we can [succeed],” Chicago guard Ayo Dosunmu said. “Not just once, but several occasions. Then you get excitement and understand that (maybe) you’re real close to being a really good basketball team consistently. That’s the way I try to look at it and not in a negative way.”
Bulls leading scorer Zach LaVine, who is averaging 24 points per game, drilled a 3-pointer late in the second quarter Thursday to become the sixth player to score at least 10,000 points with Chicago. He helped the Bulls take a 64-63 halftime lead.
Not much went right after that, sending the Bulls back to the drawing board. Again.
“I think we’ve been very inconsistent, especially lately,” Chicago’s Nikola Vucevic said. “We just don’t do the stuff we need to do to win games.”
The 76ers, meanwhile, hope to build momentum from Friday’s 132-129 home victory against the East-leading Cleveland Cavaliers.
Paul George (30 points) and Tyrese Maxey (29) sparked the offense while Maxey helped facilitate it, too, contributing seven assists.
“They’ve got to be aggressive. They have to be aggressive, because they draw a lot of attention,” Philadelphia’s Eric Gordon said. “They’ve got to get other guys open shots, and they’ve also got to score for themselves, so they’ve got to be creative.”
Philadelphia will aim to duplicate — or at least approach — its success on 3-pointers. The 76ers hit a season-high 21 against Cleveland. George contributed six 3-pointers, with Maxey and Gordon adding four apiece.
“It feels good that we’re moving the ball, we’re making the extra effort to make the extra pass,” Gordon said. “It means a lot to our team, so we’ve got to go and try to get another win tomorrow.”
Philadelphia has won two straight games in the series with Chicago and six of the past 10.
Joel Embiid posted a double-double of 31 points and 12 rebounds to spark the 76ers to a 108-100 victory in Chicago on Dec. 8. Embiid has missed the past 10 games with a knee injury and won’t play Saturday, 76ers coach Nick Nurse said.
LaVine led Chicago with 30 points in the game, which saw double-digit assist efforts from both sides. Maxey had 14 for the 76ers and Josh Giddey dished out 11 for the Bulls.
The Bulls and 76ers will conclude their season series with games in Philadelphia on Feb. 24 and April 13.
–Field Level Media
