Despite an impressive showing from a resilient Philadelphia team, the Bulls were able to capture a confidence-boosting 114-107 win over Brett Brown's squad, bolstering their resolve heading into the playoffs and helping them keep pace with Toronto for the third seed in the East.
Guided by an astounding performance by Derrick Rose, who posted 22 points, eight assists, and six rebounds while achieving a +25 plus-minus rating, Chicago quelled a rather aggressive approach by the 76ers, who remained in contention throughout thanks to their proficiency from long range.
Pau Gasol compiled a quiet stat line of 24 points and 13 rebounds, Jimmy Butler recorded 15 points and six rebounds, and the bench tandem of Taj Gibson and Tony Snell combined for 24 points to assist in Chicago's victory. Mike Dunleavy also chipped in a solid 13 points, including two valuable threes.
For Philadelphia, Robert Covington lead the way with 22 points on 8-of-19 shooting, the immortal Jason Richardson hit four three-pointers en route to 19 points, 6'9" floor general and Swae Lee look-alike JaKarr Sampson added 18, and Hollis Thompson contributed 15 points off the bench, as the Sixers posed a continous threat to Chicago's resolve throughout the contest with their never-say-die attitude.
Following a Sampson three which gave the Sixers a 45-37 advantage with 5:11 remaining in the half, however, the Bulls retailiated, as Rose and Gasol facilitated a subsequent 15-5 run. Despite this run, a Covington layup with four ticks left did sent Philadelphia to the halftime break with a 53-52 lead, one which they expanded to 61-54 in the opening stages of the third quarter.
Once again, Chicago fought back, with a Dunleavy trey off of a picturesque feed from D-Rose igniting the flame for 16-2 Bulls run, capped off by an athletic finish from none other than the hometown hero. This surge gave Chicago a 70-63 lead, however, as they tend to do, the 76ers countered with their own strike, with a mixture of threes, made free throws, and defensive stops giving them a 77-76 lead with 1:27 left in the quarter following a Thompson conversion from deep.
Philadelphia responded from a seven-point deficit once again early in the fourth quarter with threes from Thompson and Glenn Robinson III, however Chicago had finally had enough. Snell hit three from beyond the arc over the course of 90 seconds to give his team a 96-87 advantage, and, following a Nikola Mirotic trey off of a beautiful dime from Rose, the Bulls found themselves in the driver's seat for good, up 103-95 with 5:35 to go.
The Sixers mounted one last comeback, cutting the lead to 103-101 following another combination of threes, however Rose shut the door on Philadelphia's hopes, hitting two driving layups, converting off of a spin move in the paint, and dishing one brilliant dime out of a double-team to a waiting Taj Gibson down low to seal the deal.
Two Takeaways
1. The Sixers live and die by the three.
In Brown's run-and-gun offense, the shooting of the three-ball is widely encouraged, and, boy, has Philadelphia taken that to heart. The 76ers shot 13-for-41 from deep, while firing up the long ball on any given opportunity.
Richardson went 4-of-8 from three, Thompson went 4-of-7, Jerami Grant went 2-of-8, Sampson went 1-of-5, and Covington went an abysmal 1-of-9 for Philadelphia, who never ceased to take advantage of any open look that came their way.
2. Derrick Rose's court vision is unparralled.
Many assumptions have been tossed in the path of Rose as he attempts to make yet another return from significant injurt, however one thing is for certain, the Chicago native's basketball IQ is off the charts.
We routinely witnessed Rose toss dart after dart tonight, from a whip-around, no-look dime to a spotting-up Dunleavy across the arc, to the multiple full-court passes he made in the third quarter off of defensive rebounds, to a beautiful feed to Gibson out of a double-team with 28 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.
This serves as yet another reminder that, if Rose can stay healthy, the Bulls are a dangerous threat to capture the crown in the Eastern Conference.