Coming off their first loss of the season, the Chicago Bulls return home Tuesday to face a Philadelphia 76ers team armed with a blueprint for handling such a setback.
On Sunday, Philadelphia responded to its first defeat two nights earlier by rolling past Brooklyn 129-105 in the opener of a three-game road trip.
While a scorching first quarter from Kelly Oubre Jr. certainly helped, the Sixers’ consistency after Oubre Jr. collected 22 points on 9-for-12 shooting in the opening frame remained key.
“Just setting the tone earlier, facing adversity like we will do probably every night, but also just being mature enough to extend those leads whenever we needed to,” Oubre Jr. said. “And just play our game at the same time.”
Chicago will aim to regroup from Sunday’s 128-116 road loss to the New York Knicks. After limiting foes to 30.1% shooting from long range in five straight victories to start the season, the Bulls struggled to defend the arc, as New York shot 47.6% from deep.
“When teams don’t shoot well, it obviously makes things easier for you,” the Bulls’ Josh Giddey said. “You don’t have to take the ball out of the net. You can run in transition, you’re playing off of misses.
“Obviously, it was going to swing. It always balances itself out. Teams weren’t going to shoot 25% the whole year against us. We’ve got to find ways to win when teams do shoot the ball well.”
Giddey delivered his first triple-double of the season, contributing 23 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds.
While the Bulls have relied on energy, defense and a multi-pronged attack to fuel their early run, missing one cog from that equation provided an obstacle. Reserve guard Ayo Dosunmu was out after sustaining a quad contusion during Friday’s home win against the Knicks. He’s listed as questionable for Tuesday’s game.
Philadelphia persevered in Brooklyn as Oubre (29 points), Tyrese Maxey (26) and Quentin Grimes (22) sparked a balanced attack.
Joel Embiid sat out due to left knee injury management. Paul George, also recovering from a left knee injury, was held out as the team awaits his season debut.
Sixers coach Nick Nurse said George, who had a “live-ish” 3-on-3 workout on Saturday, “is progressing and we’ll just see how it goes.”
The Bulls continue to get frontcourt consistency from Nikola Vucevic, who had 17 points and 14 rebounds against New York.
Vucevic has notched a double-double in four of six games this season. He has five double-doubles and one triple-double in his past 10 games against Philadelphia.
The Bulls are 4-0 at home this season while the 76ers are 3-0 on the road.
Chicago is 6-4 in its past 10 games against Philadelphia. The Bulls are seeking their first three-game winning streak in the series since a 12-game tear between the 2013-14 and 2016-17 seasons.
The 76ers won both meetings at the United Center last season.
