The Philadelphia 76ers have notched their first multi-game win of the season after taking down the Chicago Bulls 114-109. The Sixers looked like they were well on their way to a win in the first quarter but didnât dominate as much after that.
The Sixers scored 37 points in the first quarter but didnât score more than 27 in a single quarter after that. James Harden struggled to find open shots, converting just two of his 13 attempts from the field. The Beard still had 11 assists while Joel Embiid shined by scoring 25 points, including the 3-pointer that gave the Sixers the lead with 18 seconds remaining. It was a close game despite a strong Philly start but Embiid and company still held on for the win.
JOEL EMBIID HITS THE CLUTCH THREE đ±
â ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) October 30, 2022
In his postgame press conference on NBC Sports Philadelphia, Doc Rivers gave some tough love to the Sixersâ offense. âI just thought we lost our rhythm, we lost our pace again. We didnât get into our stuff, the ball wasnât moving,â he said. Rivers gave credit to the Bullsâ defense but then explained how this win for Philly was a significant one.
âStarting in the middle of the second quarter, we just lost our rhythm and never got it back, really,â the Sixers head coach continued. âWe just made timely shots and won a game. Like I said yesterday, weâre a work in progress. But, if we can win some games doing that, that was [sic] great. Tonight was a great example of that. We won the game, but we got a long way to go.â
At the very start of the season, the Sixers looked dead in the water if they failed to get their offense going. Against the Bulls, they found ways to mitigate Chicagoâs offense, which featured three scorers in the 20s (DeMar DeRozan, Nikola Vucevic and Zach LaVine) and some key runs late in the game. A balanced offensive attack that featured Georges Niang (15 points off the bench), Tyrese Maxey (14) and Tobias Harris (13) did the trick.
Rivers had some tough words after the Sixers slid to 1-4 but they have now rebounded with two wins on the road against teams they could see in the playoffs. Their next game is Monday against the Washington Wizards.