PHILADELPHIA 76ERS 112 – CHICAGO BULLS 105 FEB. 19, 2021
February 20, 2021
The Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Chicago Bulls, 112-105, on Wednesday night at The Center, improving to an Eastern Conference-best 20-10 on the season. The 76ers’ 13-2 record is tied with Utah for the best in the NBA. The Bulls fell to 12-16 on the season.
The 76ers have won 20 of their first 30 games for the sixth time since 1983, per the Elias Sports Bureau. The last five occurrences entering this season were 2019-20 (20-10), 2011-2012 (20-10), 2000-0-1 (22-8),
1984-1985 (24-6) and 1983-1984 (22-8).
Philadelphia won the rebounding battle 53-42 on the night. It was the 10th time this season the 76ers had 50-plus rebounds, improving to 8-2 when doing so (Stathead).
JOEL EMBIID scored a career-high 50 points (17-26 FG, 15-17 FT), collected 17 rebounds, handed out five assists and tallied two steals and four blocks. Embiid is the first 76er to score 50-plus points in a game since Hall of Famer ALLEN IVERSON on Dec. 23, 2005 at Atlanta (Stathead).
He’s the eighth 76er ever to score 50-plus, joining Iverson, WILT CHAMBERLAIN, DANA BARROS, WILLIE BURTON, HAL GREER, MOSES MALONE and DOLPH SCHAYES (Stathead).
Since steals and blocks were first tracked in 1973-74, Embiid is the first player ever to post such a stat line, per the Elias Sports Bureau.
Embiid is the first NBA player to post 50 points, 17 rebounds and five assists in a game since CHRIS WEBBER on Jan. 5, 2001. He’s the first 76er with such a stat line since Chamberlain on March 18, 1968 (Sportradar).
He joins Denver’s JAMAL MURRAY (tonight) and NIKOLA JOKIĆ, Golden State’s STEPHEN CURRY, Washington’s BRADLEY BEAL and Toronto’s FRED VANVLEET as the only players this season to score 50-or-more points in a game (Stathead).
Embiid scored 25 points in each half tonight and now has scored 20-or-more points in 16 halves this season, tied with Portland’s DAMIAN LILLARD for the most in the NBA (Stathead).
He made 15 of his 17 free-throw attempts and joins Atlanta’s TRAE YOUNG as the only two players in the league to make at least 15 free throws in three games this season (Stathead).
TOBIAS HARRIS posted 22 points (9-16 FG), 12 rebounds and seven assists in 37 minutes of action. Harris has now handed out 24 assists over his last five games and is averaging a career-high 3.2 helpers per game this season.
Harris has scored 20-or-more points 16 times this season and Philadelphia is 13-3 in those games. It was also his third game this season with 20-10-5, the most such games he’s had in a single season in his career (Stathead).
Chicago’s ZACH LAVINE scored 30 points to lead the Bulls, including 10-10 from the free-throw line. It was LaVine’s 14th 30-point game of the season, tied with Curry for the third-most in the league (Stathead). He had 19 such performances last season.
NEXT UP: The 76ers will visit the Toronto Raptors on Sunday night at 7:00 p.m. ET. This will be the first of two straight games for the 76ers in Tampa, the Raptors home for the 2020-21 season. The Raptors sit at 15-15, sixth in the Eastern Conference, most recently defeating the Timberwolves tonight, 86-81. The game can be seen on NBC Sports Philadelphia and heard on 97.5 The Fanatic.