CHICAGO (AP) – Joel Embiid had 20 points and 10 rebounds, JJ Redick scored 23 and the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Chicago Bulls 116-96 on Saturday night.
Embiid dominated inside, Redick supplied the outside touch and the 76ers got back to winning after dropping three in a row, even though guard Jimmy Butler missed his second consecutive game because of back tightness. They also bumped their lead over idle Boston for the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference to two games.
Embiid had five assists and blocked three shots in his second straight start after missing three in a row. The All-Star center has been dealing with a sore left knee, and the Sixers are managing his workload with the playoffs approaching.
Redick nailed four 3-pointers. Tobias Harris added 16 points. Ben Simmons scored 14, and the 76ers pulled away in the third quarter after grabbing an eight-point halftime lead.
JaKarr Sampson led Chicago with a career-high 29 points. But the Bulls lost for the sixth time in seven games.
Outdueled by fellow MVP candidate Giannis Antetokounmpo in a loss to Milwaukee on Thursday, Embiid scored 14 as the 76ers grabbed a 57-49 halftime lead.
He cut for a thunderous one-handed alley-oop dunk off a feed from Simmons with just over a minute left in the half. A four-point play by Redick got the lead up to 57-47 before Chicago’s Walt Lemon Jr. drove for a layup in the closing seconds.
The Sixers put the Bulls away in the third, outscoring them 29-19.
