The Philadelphia Sixers came into last night’s home game against the Chicago Bulls hoping to clinch a playoff ticket amidst their winning streak. The Bulls had a different storyline in mind. Demar Derozan led the Bulls with 25 points to eventually put out the Sixers’ flaming, hot streak. The win, however, didn’t come easy for the Bulls. Despite Joel Embiid’s 37-point performance, the MVP frontrunner couldn’t complete the tip-in at the end of regulation to secure the victory. The game was sent into overtime.
In overtime, Derozan went into overdrive, but another missed shot towards the end of the 1OT sent both teams into 2OT.
The Sixers opened up the second overtime with a 105-101 lead, but the offense quickly fizzled out as Embiid fouled out, and the Bulls pulled away with a run. It had been the first time in 12 career meetings against Chicago that Embiid was on the losing side. A statistic that Derozan was highly aware of – and highly moved to snap, along with the winning streak.
“It was only a matter of time. Not saying that was part of the motivation. We’ve got a bigger goal than just trying to beat him. But I’m glad we got the win,” said Derozan to reporters.
With the win, Chicago improved to 34-37, but in the 10th place in the Eastern Conference. They will have to participate in the play-in tournament and flourish if they want to see some Playoff action. As for Philadelphia, they stand third in the East, 48-23, and need one more win to cinch their playoff spot.
