Korkmaz drops 31 as 76ers hold off Bulls

[February 10, 2020]    Furkan Korkmaz scored 31 points to carry the host Philadelphia 76ers past the Chicago Bulls 118-111 on Sunday.

Bulls guard Zach LaVine (8) warms up before action against the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Joel Embiid added 28 points, 12 rebounds, five assists and four blocked shots for his 30th double-double while Ben Simmons had 19 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds for his fifth triple-double this season. Tobias Harris contributed 14 points for the Sixers, who improved to 24-2 at home.

Zach LaVine led the Bulls with 32 points while Luke Kornet added a career-high 25. Cristiano Felicio had 13 for the Bulls, who dropped their fifth in a row. Thaddeus Young also had 10 points and 10 rebounds.

The short-handed Bulls played without a number of key injured players such as Denzel Valentine, Otto Porter Jr., Wendell Carter Jr., Kris Dunn and Lauri Markkanen.

The Sixers built a 15-point lead but had to fend off the pesky Bulls with a 56-51 advantage with 1:01 remaining in the second quarter.

Korkmaz continued his stellar play with 19 points as the Sixers held a 60-55 lead at halftime.

Despite dealing with a sore neck, LaVine kept the Bulls close with 13 points, four assists and three steals.

The Bulls came out aggressive and went ahead 65-62 with 9:23 remaining in the third.

Both teams missed on their final possession of the third and the game was tied at 83. Turnovers continued to hurt the Sixers as Simmons committed four of their 12 through the first three quarters.

Embiid opened the fourth with a jump hook followed by an offensive rebound and a vicious dunk to quickly put the Sixers up four, 87-83.

The Sixers began to pull away as newly acquired Glenn Robinson III (10 points) contributed consecutive baskets for a 95-87 advantage.

But Chicago crept within 99-95 when Tomas Satoransky drained a 3-pointer from the baseline.

Philadelphia scored the next five points to move back ahead 104-95.

When LaVine drove to the basket and scored with 4:36 left, the Bulls' deficit was 106-101.

On the next two Sixers' next possessions, Korkmaz hit his sixth trey along with a dunk for a 111-101 advantage.

--Field Level Media

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