Philadelphia 76ers @ Chicago Bulls
Saturday, December 30, 2023 at 8:00 PM ET
United Center, Chicago, IL | Game ID: 22300442
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
CHI 21 35 24 25 105PHI 17 31 23 21 92
ESPN UpdateESPN Update
Bulls take advantage of NBA MVP Joel Embiid's absence to beat 76ers, 105-92
CHICAGO -- — DeMar DeRozan scored 24 points, Coby White added 20 and the Chicago Bulls took advantage of NBA MVP Joel Embiid’s absence to beat the Philadelphia 76ers 105-92 on Saturday night in the opener of a home-and-home set.
Sidelined by a sprained right ankle, Embiid could return when the teams meet again Tuesday night in Philadelphia.
Andre Drummond had 15 points and 23 rebounds for the Bulls, They’ve won five of seven and have taken both meetings with Philadelphia.
Tyrese Maxey had 20 points and seven assists for the 76ers. Tobias Harris added 15 points.
Chicago never trailed in the second half and gave itself some breathing room midway through the final quarter with a 13-2 run that turned a five-point game into a 95-79 lead. DeRozan scored five points during the spurt.
“The season didn’t start how we wanted it to start,” White said after the Bulls turned in a 9-5 December to come close to evening out a 4-14 start. “Everybody’s ready to contribute when the opportunity presents itself.”
Drummond, seeing increased playing time with starting center Nikola Vucevic out with a groin injury, helped the Bulls outrebound Philadelphia 53-36.
“It’s a difficult road trip without Joel the whole way,” 76ers coach Nick Nurse said after his team finished a four-game trip without the MVP. “We’re glad we got out of it 2-2.”
The Bulls closed the first half on an 11-2 run to lead 56-48.
“We weren’t that great in the first quarter with six turnovers,” Bulls coach Billy Donovan said. “But as the game went on, we got better.”
Chicago finished with 16 giveaways.
Vucevic missed his third straight game. Coach Billy Donovan said he doubted the former All-Star would be ready to return Tuesday.
Chicago star Zach LaVine has missed 15 straight games because of inflammation in his right foot. Donovan said LaVine could resume practicing as early as next week.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
PHIDM D. Melton
FK F. Korkmaz
KM K. Martin
KO K. Oubre Jr.
MB M. Bamba
MM M. Morris Sr.
NB N. Batum
PB P. Beverley
PR P. Reed
RC R. Covington
TH T. Harris
TM T. Maxey
CHIAC A. Caruso
AD A. Dosunmu
AD A. Drummond
CW C. White
DD D. DeRozan
DT D. Terry
JC J. Carter
PW P. Williams
TT T. Taylor
PHI/CHI the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur