DeMar DeRozan re-aggravated a right quad injury in the Chicago Bulls’ 116-91 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers Wednesday night at the United Center, exiting with 7 minutes, 48 seconds left in the third quarter after missing all seven shots and producing the fewest points since he came to Chicago with four.
DeRozan also drew a flagrant-one foul and technical foul on the same play early in the second quarter, unleashing frustration by blasting through a Paul Reed screen and arguing with officials after not getting a call when P.J. Tucker bumped him at the other end on the possession before the Reed play.
DeRozan’s situation seemed symbolic for a night where the Bulls trailed 17-0 and 21-1, prompting coach Billy Donovan to burn two early timeouts. Sarcastic cheers greeted the Bulls’ first point, a Zach LaVine free throw. The Bulls didn’t score a field goal until Nikola Vucevic threw down a dunk with 6:34 left in the first quarter. The Bulls missed their first seven shots.
Joel Embiid rested the entire second half for the 76ers, who also played without James Harden and set the tone for the night on the first two possessions. Tucker rebounded Tobias Harris’ missed 3-pointer and fed De’Anthony Melton, who promptly buried a 3-pointer. Patrick Williams then committed a turnover on the ensuing inbounds pass, and Harris’ layup made it 5-0 just 35 seconds after the opening tipoff.
“The first possession, we turned it over on a made basket. I think we missed a couple loose-ball rebounds that you have to be able to come down with,” Donovan said. “I didn’t think from a rotation standpoint we were as good or as on point as we were in Philly.”
Indeed, the Bulls had snapped the 76ers’ eight-game win streak with an inspired effort on Monday night. Donovan said after Wednesday’s loss that he equated the opportunity to when the Bulls stole Game 1 from the Milwaukee Bucks in last season’s first-round playoff series, reminding his team of how the Bucks responded with four straight victories as a warning for the 76ers’ potential response.
Source: nbcsports.com
