With a great Zach LaVine (41 pts), Chicago hit Philadelphia

Still denied Joel Embiid, the Sixers have to face the Bullswho have made a habit of offering themselves the scalp of the league’s top names this season.

New illustration tonight, because the teammates of Zach LaVine (41 points, on 11/13 on 3-pts!) and Nikola Vucevic (19 points, 18 rebounds, 10 assists!) Went for a great victory in Pennsylvania (126-112).

A victory built from the second quarter for Chicagothanks to a victory of fire and an unquestionable dominance in the paint, while the defense of Philadelphia worried about a good part of this meeting.

WHAT YOU SHOULD REMEMBER

— Zach LaVine recalled. An All-Star the past two seasons, but out of the game (or almost) this year, the Bulls back probably wants to remind people that he remains a quality striker, capable of catching fire like very few people. in this league. To be convinced of this, he only needs to observe his tremendous burst of heat in the third quarter, where he blasted the Sixers defense with his award-winning baskets and sparked a run decisive 16-2. We also remember that LaVine, along with Nikola Vucevic, woke up Chicago in the second quarter, contributing to his team’s impressive 23-6.

— Chicago in offensive demonstration. With a very good 57% success rate on shots and an even better 59% success rate on 3-pts, it is an understatement to say that the Bulls have done damage on offense. Especially in the second and third quarters, where Billy Donovan’s men found their stamp on this game. From 44-31 Philadelphia, we saw a completely different Chicago team, still led by Nikola Vucevic, but mostly captured by his outside address and Zach LaVine’s heat stroke. Unable to react and often late, the opposing defense therefore took water, slowly but surely.

TOPS/FLOPS

✅ Nikola Vucevic. Without Joel Embiid, we can expect the Montenegrin to rain balloons and feast on the racket of the Sixers, facing PJ Tucker, Montrezl Harrell, Georges Niang or even Tobias Harris. It didn’t miss, as he made a yard on the rebound, scored easily near the circle (and was penalized when necessary on 3-pts), or cut the Philadelphia defense on his shifts for Zach LaVine or Patrick Williams. The symbol of Chicago’s dominance in the paint (46 points to 36).

✅ Tyrese Maxey. If Tobias Harris (22 points, 11 rebounds) and the duo Georges Niang (12 points) – Montrezl Harrell (17 points) also showed good things in this meeting, it is difficult not to maintain the first truly big performance of the Sixers’ back, since his return from injury. His team’s leading scorer (26 points) and inspired ball in hand (6 assists), he is the driving force behind Philadelphia’s attack, aggressively attacking the Bulls’ defense and also scoring some victories from long range. A real skull.

⛔ James Harden. More than anyone, the 2018 MVP has completely missed his game. If he, of course, blackened the stats sheet (17 points, 7 rebounds, 11 assists), he especially had a beauty hole offensively: 4/17 on shots, including 3/9 on 3-pts… A terrible scoring performance from the league’s three-time leading scorer, who started at 0/8, clearly didn’t suit the Sixers. Especially without Joel Embiid…

⛔ Chicago and free throws. Besides DeMar DeRozan’s cautious game (12 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists, but 4/13 on shots), the main downside for the Bulls tonight is their success at the line. The authors of a bad 10/17, or only 59% of the address, it is surprising that they have torn themselves to this level. They who have been accustomed to shine in this sector since the beginning of the season: 82%, or the second best percentage in the league…

THE FOLLOWING

Philadelphia (23-15) : trip to Detroit, Sunday evening (9 pm).

Chicago (18-21) : back to back against Utah, Saturday night (02:00).