The Philadelphia 76ers (18-8) took on the Chicago Bulls (11-17) to start a brief homestand before Christmas. Facing the Windy City squad for the first time this season, the Sixers lost their winning streak in a poor offensive performance. The final score: 108-104.

Let's break down the Sixers' loss.

Sixers player notes:

Joel Embiid: 40 points, 14 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 blocks, 15-27 FG shooting

Embiid was a late addition to the injury report, being listed as questionable due to left hamstring tightness, but ended up playing. The Bulls packed the paint hard against him and he responded with smooth jumpers like clockwork. He worked his way into a rhythm with his precise handles and off-the-bounce jumper. When he got to the rim, he threw down thunderous dunks.

This was a put-the-team-on-his-back performance for Embiid even though he was negated a bit by his own troublesome fouling and missed shot in crunch time.

Tyrese Maxey: 29 points, 5 rebounds, 8 assists, 8-22 FG shooting

The Bulls were not afraid to get physical with Maxey. Although they ran the risk of getting fouls called against him, it seemed to work. His shooting didn’t totally tank but he was off of his game. He stayed active with Embiid in the two-man game, assisting him on a bunch of his buckets. But he also forced some ill-advised shots and couldn’t get enough of his own looks to go, a trend that every non-Embiid player (besides De'Anthony Melton).

Still, in the fourth quarter, Maxey provided a plethora of big-time shots to keep the Sixers in it.

Bulls player notes:

DeMar DeRozan: 15 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals, 5-15 FG shooting

DeRozan's teammates did the bulk of the scoring around him in this game, though he did shoot the ball pretty well from outside the paint. He's still got it when it comes to contested middies.

Coby White: 24 points, 8 rebounds, 9 assists, 9-17 FG shooting

The young guard's scoring surge continued against the Sixers, particularly in the first quarter. He got to the rim a bunch but got up plenty of healthy threes, always ready to attack on a fast break. His first career triple-double was not far out of reach, either.

Game recap:

1st half

With the holidays approaching, the Sixers are still looking to get the right habits down and play with energy. As Kelly Oubre Jr. said earlier this morning, Philly is “a place for dogs” and the fans love them for it. The Bulls have once again been a less-than-stellar team but have turned it around recently, going 5-3 since losing Zach LaVine to a foot injury, which includes wins over the Milwaukee Bucks and Miami Heat. White has stepped up big-time, averaging a highly efficient 25.6 points per game over that stretch.

Ayo Dosunmu started out on Maxey while Meton took White and Tobias Harris guarded DeRozan. Nikola Vucevic guarded Embiid and, like many centers who guard him, picked up a pair of quick fouls. The Sixers' offense wasn’t otherworldly to start but Embiid's size in the paint was put to good use. On one play, he got the inside seal on Vucevic and directed Harris to feed him. He expertly evaded the steal attempt and threw down what is surprisingly a rare dunk for someone his size. Clearly, he doesn’t need them to score at will.

The Sixers' defense came with energy from the start. Guys flew around the perimeter to contest everything and then leaked out in transition. It felt as if they were forcing tons of turnovers with the way they got stops and fast breaks, though they only generated two actual ones. Maxey provided a highlight-reel bucket with a fancy layup as the Bulls game away with six points in the first six minutes.

Coby White started to heat up near the end of the first quarter as Alex Caruso came in to uplift Chicago's defense, particularly against Maxey. They sparked a 15-2 Bulls run that gave them a one-point lead to end the period.

With Marcus Morris Sr. ruled out due to illness, Danuel House Jr. got bumped into the rotation. He checked into the game after the opening minutes of the second quarter, which saw the Bulls go on a 7-0 run. The Sixers' shooting and offensive execution tonight was bad outside of Embiid. House canned a corner triple on his first attempt.

Vucevic was called for a flopping technical foul after Embiid crossed him up. The big fella went right back to getting buckets in his second stint as the Sixers went to a zone defense. They put Nicolas Batum on White when they went back to man-to-man defense, a sign that they knew who the primary source of offense was for Chicago — and that they needed to stop him. But White continued to pry the defense open and make plays.

The Sixers trailed 55-44 at the half, trailing the Bulls' field-goal percentage (53.3) by almost 12 percent and their three-point percentage (38.5) by almost 10.

2nd half

Embiid started the third quarter like he knew he had to carry the Sixers. He didn’t rush anything or hog the ball but he went right to work getting buckets, including another two-handed slam. His pace of having more points than minutes played continued without interruption. Melton also helped provide a spark by doing the dirty work. Philly chipped away at the deficit quickly. Maxey hit a three to retake the lead less than five minutes in.

But the Bulls hosted their own brief scoring parade to jump back ahead by seven points. Caruso again provided a major spark, showcasing his stellar defense (and some connective passing) that will get Chicago tons of trade-deadline offers that they aren’t all that interested in taking, for some reason. The Bulls led 81-69 at the end of the third quarter.

The Sixers's second unit shot some life back into the game, ripping off eight straight points to start the fourth quarter. Patrick Beverley provided essential value as a creator opposite of Maxey and Paul Reed provided some much-needed scoring at the rim. Maxey drained a three to retake the lead but, of course, it didn’t even last a full roundtrip down the court.

Embiid came back in with 5:49 left facing a one-point deficit and playing in a two-big lineup with Reed along with Maxey, Oubre and Robert Covington. But things went terribly wrong for the Sixers, who surrendered five quick points as Embiid committed his fifth foul. Philly went back to a more normal lineup shortly thereafter.

The Bulls came through with clutch shot after clutch shot, keeping the Sixers at bay. Oubre's cold shooting night continued with a pair of free throws late in the game. A huge Maxey three brought the game back to one before DeRozan baited Harris into a (questionable) shooting foul. He only hit one and Nurse let the Sixers play on instead of calling a timeout, resulting in a missed floater from Embiid. DeRozan then got another pair of freebies and made them both to put them up by four.

Out of the timeout with 5.9 seconds left down four, Embiid missed a triple. The Sixers' six-game winning streak was over.

Random rumblings:

  • Shoutout to the old, bearded guy who not only wore a Santa hat but put jingle bells in his beard. No one's out-jollying him this holiday season.
  • Batum was sidelined late in the game because of hamstring sorenesses, the team said at the end of the game.

The Sixers will face the Minnesota Timberwolves at home on Wednesday.