Preview: Bulls at 76ers

[April 06, 2017]  Just when it looked like the Chicago Bulls were on their way up the standings and destined to earn a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, the inconsistency that plagued them all season returned in a loss to the lowly New York Knicks. The Bulls will try to avoid a second straight loss to a team already eliminated from the race when they visit the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday.

Chicago won four in a row, including wins over three teams ahead of them in the East, to jump back into the top eight before falling 100-91 at New York. "You just look at the numbers on the glass: That tells you everything you need to know," Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg told reporters. "They just had their way with us. One guy beating three guys to the ball, (out-rebounded) 53-36 overall. (The Knicks had) 16 offensive rebounds. We were careless -- 15 turnovers. It's not how you win games." The Bulls now sit seventh in the East but are just a half-game ahead of the ninth-place Miami Heat with four games remaining in the regular season. The 76ers dropped four straight and are coming off one of their worst performances of the season after falling to the NBA-worst Brooklyn Nets 141-118 on Tuesday.

TV: 7 p.m. ET, CSN Chicago, CSN Philadelphia

ABOUT THE BULLS (38-40): Chicago swept the four-game season series from the Cleveland Cavaliers and owns wins over Boston, San Antonio and Golden State this season but seems to struggle against teams on the lower end of the standings. The Bulls finish out the regular season against the teams with the three worst records in the East - Philadelphia, Orlando and Brooklyn (twice). "Nah, not really," All-Star swingman Jimmy Butler told reporters when asked if he was surprised by the team failing to get up for the game against the Knicks on Tuesday. "It happens. It's happened before. But we can't let it happen again in these last four. We need these, just like we needed the one tonight. There's nothing that we can do about it now. Next one up."

ABOUT THE 76ERS (28-50): Philadelphia allowed the Nets to shoot 64 percent from the field in Tuesday's loss, but coach Brett Brown was not concerned about any lack of effort on the part of his team. "The thing that we all, led by me, have to be mindful of, this group cares," Brown told reporters. "This group has given the organization, they've given the coaching staff everything they've got. Sometimes, over 82 games, games like this happen. Sometimes, when you have (limited) players, games like this happen. I'm not overreacting. I think these guys deserve that. We’ve got more home games that we want to perform a lot better than we just did to end the season." The 76ers still have a shot at reaching 30 wins for the first time since 2012-13.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. 76ers rookie PF Dario Saric (plantar fasciitis) is on a restriction of 24 minutes.

2. Bulls SG Dwyane Wade (elbow) participated in the team's shootaround on Tuesday but is not expected to return during the final four games.

3. Chicago took the first two meetings this season but fell at home to Philadelphia in the most recent matchup, 117-107 on March 24.

PREDICTION: Bulls 112, 76ers 107

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