3 observations after Sixers reach season-worst losing streak with 32-point defeat to Bulls

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3 observations after Sixers reach season-worst losing streak with 32-point defeat to Bulls originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The 2024-25 Sixers keep reaching new lows.

Their losing streak hit a season-high eight games Monday night with a 142-110 defeat to the Bulls at Wells Fargo Center.

At 20-37, the Sixers are 12th in the Eastern Conference and trail the 10th-seeded Bulls by 2.5 games.

The Sixers’ top scorers were Paul George and Kelly Oubre Jr. with 19 points apiece.

Bulls guard Josh Giddey had 25 points, 16 rebounds, six assists and three blocks. Kevin Huerter scored 23 points.

The Sixers began the night with five players out:

Joel Embiid (left knee injury management)

Justin Edwards (left ankle sprain)

Eric Gordon (right wrist sprain)

Kyle Lowry (right hip injury management)

Jared McCain (left lateral meniscus surgery)

Embiid is set for further testing Tuesday and the Sixers expect to have more clarity on his status after that, Sixers head coach Nick Nurse said pregame.

Chicago’s sidelined players included Nikola Vucevic, Ayo Dosunmu and Patrick Williams.

The Sixers will visit the Knicks on Wednesday. Here are observations on their abysmal loss to the Bulls:

NBA-worst defense on display

Neither team made a rousing start defensively.

Guerschon Yabusele won the opening jump ball and Oubre slammed in a dunk four seconds later. Chicago then scored the next six points on a Huerter layup, a Zach Collins tip-in and a Matas Buzelis dunk.

Again, the Sixers opened the game like a team with the NBA’s worst defensive rating outside of garbage time since Jan. 1. Nurse used a timeout after Huerter’s three-pointer gave the Bulls a 21-12 lead.

The Sixers went on a 9-2 run after the timeout capped by George swishing a top-of-the-key three. The Tyrese Maxey-George duo scored half of the Sixers’ 30 first-quarter points.

The team’s continued defensive woes meant that 30 points wasn’t nearly enough to be on top. Though backup center Andre Drummond recorded six points and six rebounds in the first quarter, he struggled on several other fronts. Drummond committed two fouls in his first 58 seconds and was ineffective as…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/article/3-observations-sixers-reach-season-213352016.html

Author : NBC Sports Philadelphia

Publish date : 2025-02-24 21:33:00

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