Coby White scored 24 points and the Chicago Bulls held on to snap the Philadelphia 76ers’ six-game winning streak with a 108-104 victory Monday night.
Former Sixer Nikola Vucevic chipped in 23 points while DeMar DeRozan added 15 for the Bulls (11-17),
Joel Embiid had scored 40 points and 13 rebounds, his 11th straight game with 30 or more points and 10 or more rebounds. Tyrese Maxey added 29 points in the Sixers’ first loss to a team without a winning record this season.
Philadelphia had been the only team in the Eastern Conference that was undefeated against teams that were .500 or under on the season (12-0). The Sixers’ previous five wins, against the Atlanta Hawks, Washington Wizards, Detroit Pistons twice and Charlotte Hornets, came by an average of 31.8 points.
Chicago overcame an early 12-point deficit thanks to White’s hot shooting in the first half, when he scored 16 points as the Bulls opened a 55-44 lead.
That margin would swell to 12 after three quarters before the Sixers bench climbed their way back into the game and gave Philadelphia a brief 89-87 lead on Maxey’s 3-pointer. However, Chicago was able to shrug it off and answered with a 13-2 run that gave the Bulls an eight-point lead with just three minutes to play.
DeRozan would hit three of four free throws in the game’s waning seconds to pad the lead. Philadelphia’s last attempt to tie or take the lead fell short when Embiid lost the ball as he went up for a driving layup.