A big brick. Thus ended another great evening for Joel Embiid who, after being served by Tyrese Maxey in the heart of the racket to equalize a few seconds from time against the Bulls, saw the ball slip out of his hands and end up crashing on the basket.
Despite the 40 points from the Sixers pivot, Billy Donovan's players caused a sensation by winning in Philadelphia, where the local team, 3rd best team in the East (18v-8d), nevertheless remained on six consecutive victories . But these Bulls, still deprived of Zach LaVine, confirm their good momentum at the moment. And their attempt to get back into the race for the playoffs.
With as driving forces, more than DeMar DeRozan, who benefited from a generous whistle in the last moments (Nick Nurse used his “challenge” to contest the fault of Tobias Harris, in vain), Coby White and Nikola Vucevic . The first once again showed his speed, even allowing himself to go slam a big dunk in transitionand its accuracy of execution.
Coby White close to his first triple-double
Flirting with the first triple-double of his career, the leader caused serious problems for the opposing defense. Just like his pivot, who obviously does not have the power of his evening opponent, but was effective far and close to the circle. The two men showed composure as Philadelphia, led throughout the fourth quarter (69-81 at the start) pushed to come back.
From this match, we will especially remember the great imbalance in terms of distribution of points. Behind Joel Embiid and a Tyrese Maxey who sometimes lacked skill, there is a big void. The two leaders of the Sixers scored three quarters of their team's points, and not a single other player exceeded eight points… Opposite, the Bulls were able to rely on six players with 10 points or more. It's been their trademark since LaVine is gone.
The visitors' victory (11v-17d) is their sixth in their last nine outings.
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
– A big battle of pivots. Before his final failure, the reigning MVP showed his power and finesse in his mid-range game to make Nikola Vucevic suffer in defense, signing his fifth performance of the year at 40 points or more. But the Montenegrin also made him work a lot. Like the end of the match where the Bulls pivot converted two 3-point baskets on “pick-and-pops” with Coby White, without Joel Embiid managing to challenge him sufficiently.
– The big gap at the level of the benches. This meeting was above all a story of “runs”. The locals took a 12-point lead in the first quarter (22-10) before suffering a terrible… 22-2 on horseback at the start of the second quarter. Comparable phenomenon between the end of the 3rd and the beginning of the 4th. What do these two sequences have in common? The difference in level between the men on the bench. Alex Caruso or Jevon Carter had a big favorable impact, while Robert Covington, Patrick Beverley or even Kelly Oubre, very clumsy, were present when their team was sinking. The +/- column is quite eloquent on the subject…
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How to read the stats? Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; O = offensive rebound; D=defensive rebound; T = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; +/- = Point differential when the player is on the field; Pts = Points; Eval: player evaluation calculated from positive actions – negative actions.
