By: Kylan Watson

After beating the Orlando Magic on Friday night, the Philadelphia 76ers faced the Chicago Bulls this afternoon, with another opportunity to pick up much needed momentum after a rocky start to the 2024-25 NBA Regular Season. Thanks to a second quarter scoring explosion from a returning Joel Embiid, Philly was able to beat Chicago 108-100. With the win the Sixers push their win streak to two games for the second time this season.

The Sixers got Joel Embiid(31 points and grabbed 12 rebounds) back to start this game and he was clearly shaken off some rust. He missed his first seven field goal attempts and was clearly frustrated in that period, but his teammates were able to pick the offense up and keep Chicago’s lead to a manageable margin (10 points) by the end of that period.

Embiid finally found his rhythm in the second quarter as he scored 19 of his 31 points in that period which resulted in the Sixers taking a commanding lead over Chicago. They had no answers for Embiid once the shots started falling and it did not matter how many defenders Chicago put on him. He found the room to get a shot up over their outstretched arms or he found a teammate who was able to cash in on a high-percentage shooting opportunity. His return opened up the offense for his teammates and if he can continue to play like this throughout the rest of the season (health and knee permitting) the Sixers will compete for a championship this season.

Despite the offensive explosion from Joel Embiid, Chicago continued to fight in this game and were able to battle back and trim Philly’s lead to single digits in the fourth quarter. Zach Lavine refused to let his team fall in this contest, he scored 30 points in this game and at one point he was going shot for shot in the fourth quarter with Tyrese Maxey (25 points, 11 rebounds and had 14 assists for the first triple double of his career), Embiid, and Paul George.  Philly finally decided to put a taller defender on him and that forced him to take tougher shots which did not fall for him. Once that happened it allowed Philly to maintain their lead and win this game.

This was the best performance the Sixers have had all season, and if they can use tonight’s performance to build momentum on both sides of the ball for the rest of the season. Philly will be able to compete for a top spot in the Eastern Conference and have a chance to win their first championship since 1983.

The Sixers will finally have some time off to continue to improve their team chemistry,  continue to get healthy, and prepare to face the Indiana Pacers on Friday night. Against Indiana’s explosive offense, Philly will have to play stifling perimeter defense like they did in the second half against Chicago. Additionally, the Sixers will have to limit their turnovers and force the Pacers to rely on their half-court offense which has not been good so far this season. Implementing these things into their gameplan should put the Sixers in great position to win their eighth game of the season, and push their win streak to three games.