The Sixers are now 1-0 when their three stars play a full game together.
The team’s two returning All-Stars both had big performances on Sunday in Chicago, leading the way in a 108-100 victory.
In his 282nd career NBA game, Tyrese Maxey notched his first triple-double with 25 points, a career-high 14 assists and a career-high 11 rebounds.
Joel Embiid came back after being sidelined for seven consecutive games with left knee trouble and posted 31 points and 12 rebounds.
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Paul George and Kelly Oubre Jr. added 12 points apiece.
With a fourth win in their last five games, the Sixers improved to 7-15. Chicago fell to 10-15.
The Sixers will have a decent chunk of time to rest and practice before their next game, which is Friday night in Philadelphia vs. the Pacers. Here are observations on their win over the Bulls:
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Tale of two quarters
Embiid missed three-point jumpers on the Sixers’ first two possessions. For the season, he’s now at 3 for 23 (13.0 percent) beyond the arc.
It was quite obvious that Embiid hadn’t played in over two weeks. He committed an early turnover when he seemingly expected George to cut and the 34-year-old wing wasn’t on the same page. Embiid kept leaving jumpers short and began 0 for 7 from the field. His movement generally did not appear smooth or confident, though he concluded his first stint by running back on defense and rejecting a Coby White layup.
Chicago capitalized on Embiid’s poor start, taking a 33-23 lead on a buzzer-beating White three.
Embiid shifted to a much, much higher gear in the second quarter and looked like the player who averaged 34.7 points last season. He got on the board by sinking a turnaround jumper over Nikola Vucevic with 9:52 left in the second quarter. A mid-range bucket with 3:12 to go in the second put Embiid at 19 points.
Maxey assisted him six times during that dominant run, feeding Embid for a pick-and-roll layup and throwing pocket passes galore. Embiid was also sharp in the post and even did a bit of damage in transition, sealing effectively against smaller players on a couple of occasions early in the shot clock.
All told, the Sixers outscored the Bulls by 22 points during their brilliant second quarter and went into halftime with a 62-50 lead.
Sixers go smaller in second half
The Sixers started the night with Maxey, Oubre, George, Guerschon Yabusele and Embiid.
Jared McCain (11 points, four assists, three steals) replaced Yabusele to begin the third quarter. That move made sense, given that Chicago didn’t start a power forward and the Sixers had been subpar in the opening minutes of the game.
George played next to four bench players late in the first quarter. He didn’t rack up big numbers Sunday, but George’s decision-making was good in a variety of lineups. In the second quarter, he assisted a wide-open McCain three with a beautiful skip pass late in the shot clock.
The Sixers used a 10-man rotation that again did not include Ricky Council IV or Eric Gordon. With Sixers head coach Nick Nurse turning to Yabusele as his backup center, Andre Drummond stayed on the bench for the second half.
Kyle Lowry got 12 minutes and had three points on 1-for-3 shooting, scoring his first points since Nov. 15.
KJ Martin remained an important piece of the Sixers' rotation. With a 3-for-3 day, Martin's gone 12 for 13 from the field over his last two games. He played important minutes in the fourth quarter and chased down a key offensive rebound.
A do-it-all Maxey day
Embiid’s mid-range jumpers were still near-automatic early in the third quarter.
Maxey called for a dribble handoff action with Embiid that enabled him to attack against Vucevic from the middle of the floor multiple times before Chicago adjusted. The 23-year-old’s assists weren’t simply a byproduct of Embiid’s hot shooting run. He read the game well and amped up his aggression in the third quarter, scoring a dozen points.
Maxey was one of several Sixers to have productive days on the glass. The Sixers tallied the afternoon’s first 19 second-chance points, including a Maxey three that extended the team’s lead to 79-60.
The Bulls kept the game interesting until the final minute, though. Jalen Smith beat the third-quarter buzzer with a half-court heave and the Sixers' offense stalled early in the fourth. Both Maxey and the team shot 25 percent on the day from three-point range. Maxey is 5 for 33 (15.2 percent) on threes over his last four games.
Ultimately, Maxey and Embiid delivered down the stretch and the Sixers sealed the deal. On one highlight sequence, Embiid drew a double team and dished to Maxey, who made a quick pass that set Oubre up for a crucial corner three.
The cherry on top of Maxey's performance was a defensive rebound with just under a minute to go that polished off his triple-double. He didn't need to do anything abnormal to pursue the milestone on a true do-it-all day.
