CHICAGO — Immediately after losing seven straight games, the Sixers have a winning streak.
They polished off a 2-0 back-to-back Saturday night with a 109-97 victory over the Bulls.
Tyrese Maxey starred with 31 points and nine assists.
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The 19-27 Bulls received 25 points from Zach LaVine and 22 from Nikola Vucevic.
Paul George only played 13 minutes because of what a Sixers official called a "left fifth finger (pinkie) injury."
In addition to George, 17-27 the Sixers had five sidelined players on their injury report:
- Joel Embiid (left knee injury management)
- Andre Drummond (left toe injury recovery)
- Caleb Martin (right hip sprain)
- KJ Martin (left foot stress reaction)
- Jared McCain (left lateral meniscus surgery)
Sixers head coach Nick Nurse said pregame that both Caleb Martin and KJ Martin are expected to rejoin the team at practice this week. He said a timeline for the pair’s return to play will be determined by how practice goes for them.
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Here are observations on the Sixers' win over the Bulls:
Maxey's consistent scoring
Neither team scored until a George baseline jumper at the 9:51 mark of the first quarter. He was still flowing after his 21-point second half the night before in the Sixers’ win over the Cavs, posting seven of the Sixers’ first 11 points.
Maxey got rolling a few minutes later and ultimately followed up his 14-point first quarter vs. Cleveland with a 15-point period in Chicago.
In terms of full games, Maxey has now recorded at least 28 points in 10 consecutive outings. He’s done very well lately at recognizing when to press on the gas as a scorer.
“Just kind of playing my game,” Maxey said Friday night. “Not trying to rush, not trying to force as much. It was difficult for me just knowing that I was going to have to score more — a lot more — especially with Joel being out, and sometimes with Paul being out. But at the end of the day, I feel like if I just play my game, I’ll be pretty good out there.”
Early exit for George
Kyle Lowry came back from a right hip injury to appear in his first game since Jan. 4.
He entered late in the first quarter alongside Reggie Jackson. While Lowry had two points in his 15 minutes Saturday, Jackson was rather prominent offensively, scoring 12 points on 5-for-10 shooting. (Notably, Jeff Dowtin Jr. was on the bench in street clothes.)
Even with guard-heavy, smaller lineups, the Sixers were fine on the defensive boards in the first half. Kelly Oubre Jr. had a second straight double-double with 22 points and 12 rebounds. Fantastic back-to-back for Oubre.
Backup big man Adem Bona grabbed seven defensive rebounds over the first two quarters. Bona got 19 minutes and Guerschon Yabusele played 29. Yabusele missed the Sixers’ back-to-back against the Pacers and Bucks on Jan. 18 and Jan. 19 with right knee swelling. As Nurse acknowledged Friday, he was “hanging on” and “wasn’t moving great” at the end of the Cavs game. That description certainly still seemed to apply in Chicago.
On top of Jackson, Ricky Council IV joined the Sixers’ rotation. He had a couple of sharp moments as a cutter and chipped in five second-quarter points.
Council subbed in for George, who exited with 5:06 remaining in the second quarter and did not return. He was later ruled out for the rest of the game.
Suffice it to say that injuries have tailed the Sixers relentlessly this season.
Nurse said postgame that George “jammed” his finger and is set for an MRI on Sunday.
Sixers seal it with stops
Chicago made a run late in the third quarter and took an 81-74 edge on an Ayo Dosunmu three.
Even as his minutes crept over 40, Maxey came through with timely shotmaking in the fourth quarter. Threes from Maxey and Oubre gave the Sixers a 101-93 lead.
The Sixers had multiple clutch defensive plays, too. Several of them were unlikely on paper. Rookie Justin Edwards forced a shot-clock violation with strong isolation defense on LaVine. Eric Gordon made two important strips in the fourth quarter.
In a minute or two, the Bulls were out of the contest completely. A Gordon triple extended the Sixers' advantage to 13 points with a little under two minutes to play.
The Sixers entered this back-to-back coming off their worst defensive night of the season against the Nuggets. They cemented a 2-0 weekend with tons of stops down the stretch.
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