The Sixers were unable to snag a win on the second night of a back-to-back, losing to the Bulls.

The Philadelphia 76ers (22-10) wrapped up their Joel Embiid-less road trip against the Chicago Bulls (14-20). The schedule was unkind to the Sixers tonight and they did not have enough to take down the Bulls. They lost by a score of 105-92.

Let’s break down the Sixers’ final game of 2023.

Sixers player notes:
Tyrese Maxey: 20 points, 0 rebounds, 7 assists, 8-22 FG shooting

Coming off a stellar performance, Maxey fell back down to earth. He wasn’t scoring at will in the paint and, while he probably should have gotten a few more calls, wasn’t able to dominate through the factors of the game he could control. His scoring from everywhere was inefficient, even the foul line, where he shot 2-5.

Kelly Oubre Jr.: 11 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assists, 5-13 FG shooting

Oubre was the Sixers’ best source of energy tonight. It was a stark contrast from many of his teammates as he hardly looked bothered by the schedule crunch of the last few days. He scored at the rim a bunch and made lots of plays on defense.

Bulls player notes:
DeMar DeRozan: 24 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 9-17 FG shooting

DeRozan got up to his veteran tricks in the mid-range, particularly at the end of the first half. The Bulls lacking both of their other veteran scorers left him with a heavy workload to pick up and he did a nice job. Chicago’s young bucket-getter provided some pivotal help.

Coby White: 20 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 7-15 FG shooting

White continues to be a major source of offense and hope for the Bulls. Like Maxey, he possesses great foot speed and knows how to use quick hesi moves and start-stop dribbles to prod the defense.

Game recap:
1st half

The Sixers have done a fine job on this road trip, already securing two wins before their second game in as many nights and their third game in four nights. Even against a mid, shorthanded Bulls team, winning those games is not easy, especially when both are on the road in cities on opposite sides of the country. Embiid remaining out made things tougher, too. Nico Batum returned from a hamstring strain and came off the bench while the Bulls missed Zach LaVine, Nikola Vucevic and Torrey Craig.

Caruso guarded Maxey, of course, while Kelly Oubre Jr. guarded DeRozan. The Sixers did a very good job forcing turnovers early in the game. Paul Reed led the charge while also scoring the first four points of the night for Philly. But the Sixers made just two of their first 10 shots. Although the Bulls attempted just four shots by that point, they made each of them and took an early lead.

Batum checked into the game halfway through the opening period. He was the first forward to check in, entering the game alongside Chicago’s own Patrick Beverley, who drew a charge on Coby White. Harris found the bottom of the net with a couple of tough drives to the basket but the Sixers still couldn’t get much going on offense. Jumpers falling shorts suggested that their legs were a bit tired. Nick Nurse tweaked his rotations to get guys more rest, which included Maxey subbing out twice in the first quarter.

The Bulls’ offense wasn’t much better. They didn’t create many threes or shoot all that well from the floor overall. The score after one: 21-17, Chicago ahead.

Despite hitting the deck on a layup, Maxey did not get a foul call, a recurring theme in his rise to stardom that he and the Sixers would love to see change. He rectified it with a deep triple and went on to get a call on a drive, though he missed both of his foul shots. The Sixers tied the game up after turning an Oubre deflection into a Melton transition triple. Oubre came through with numerous hustle plays, defying the effects of any fatigue from the road trip.

The Sixers started getting some more shots to fall, including a crazy three from Batum where he never dipped the ball below his face and a dicing layup from Maxey. Philly managed to gain brief advantages on the scoreboard but DeRozan always came ready with responses to keep the home team ahead.

The Sixers trailed 56-48 at the half.

2nd half

Reed got the half underway with a steal and assist to Maxey on a breakaway layup. The Sixers’ activity on defense was very good across the board, keeping them in the game despite ghastly shooting. But although they did a great job generating opportunities in transition, their scoring in the fast break was not at the same superb level. That disparity was extra brutal when coupled with a woefully unproductive half-court offense.

Drummond owning the boards almost entirely played in the Bulls’ favor, as his physicality made things tough for Reed in the paint. Third-string center Terry Taylor, who stands at 6-foot-5, was also a strong force on the boards, coming away with offensive rebounds that helped the Bulls score second-chance points. Mo Bamba, despite towering over everyone, was unable to control the boards when Reed sat (which overlapped often with Drummond sitting).

Even with all that and hot shooting from DeRozan and White, the Sixers never trailed by double figures. The fourth quarter began for them with a nine-point deficit.

K.J. Martin saw his first minutes of the game to start the fourth as the Sixers went small with him and Morris in the frontcourt. He made a smart cut to the hoop and flushed a pass from Batum to make it a five-point game. The refusal to say die was palpable for Philly in this game, though it was clear it would take a huge shooting run or cold spell from Chicago to steal this one.

Morris was hit with a technical foul for the classic infraction of arguing with the ref after a bad call. He was hit with a common foul on a play where he was just boxing out Drummond, who ended the game with a whopping 23 rebounds. DeRozan’s technical free throw helped the Bulls take their first double-digit lead of the game.

The Bulls built their lead up higher, aided by a three-point heave at the end of the shot clock from Ayo Dosunmu, who was shooting 2-10 at that point. As hard as the Sixers tried, this night was not theirs — and especially without their best player, it was never designed to be. This was a schedule loss through and through, especially with Embiid unable to return. The Sixers posted a season-low in points.