By: Kylan Watson

After falling to the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday night, the Philadelphia 76ers faced the Chicago Bulls for the second time this season. Throughout this game both teams went on scoring runs, but it was Chicago who outexecuted Philly to win this game 109-102.

The Sixers were able to get VJ Edgecombe, Dominick Barlow, and Quentin Grimes back for this game. They did not have to use any unique line-ups during this game because they had most of their players available in this game. Joel Embiid picked up right where he left off in Philly on Tuesday night, he scored 31 points in this contest and looked like his old self throughout this game.

He did all he could to keep the Sixers afloat until his teammates could get it going, unfortunately that was not meant to be in this game. Outside of him, Tyrese Maxey (27 points), Paul George (15 points), and Barlow (10 points) no one else showed up in this game against Chicago. For the second straight game Philly’s bench left a lot to be desired and they continued to shoot nothing but bricks from the three-point line. That cannot happen against teams like the Bulls.

Chicago took full advantage of the power outage and were able to overcome an 11-point Sixers lead thanks to their bench and their pace of play. Chicago’s second team scored 59 points in this game which provided a pivotal spark when the Bulls needed it most. Philly had effectively shut Chicago’s starting unit down and the second unit put the team on their back and led the team to an impressive victory over the Sixers.

Despite the explosive showing from the Bulls second unit, Philly still had plenty of chances to win this game and just could not do it. The Sixers missed multiple three-pointers (11/39) that would have helped them win this game. Philly is in a shooting slump and need to either attack the basket or continue to move the ball to find someone who can consistently hit shots. They relied too much on Joel Embiid late in this contest and he could not carry them to a victory.

In addition, their late game execution once again lost this game for them. They just needed to make easy shots and instead settled for three-pointers late in the fourth quarter after having success attacking Chicago in the paint. Going away from what worked and letting the Bulls set their defense cost them another winnable game. For example, after successfully stopping Colby White (13 points) from driving and forcing him to either turn the ball over or a jump ball, Philly fell asleep at the wheel and allowed Tre Jones (15 points) to cut to the basket and make a lay-up that sealed the game for the Bulls.

For a team that has been in 21 close/clutch games this season, the Sixers have really collapsed in their late game execution these last two games and must improve. They have little room for error as they prepare to face the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday afternoon. A team that will blow them off the court if they do not bring their “A” game if they want to beat them.

Philly will have to be prepared to put up as much resistance as possible against Shai Gilgeous-Alexander who can offer a unique challenge to most defenses. They will have to send a combo of Paul George and VJ Edgecombe at him and hope they can force him to pass the ball and make someone else beat them. In addition, the Sixers will have to hit their three-pointers and high-percentage shots created from their ball movement. Implementing these things into their game plan on Sunday afternoon will put them in great shape to win their 17^th game of the season.