Embiid Torches Shorthanded Bulls for 35 in 76ers' 157-137 Rout

Joel Embiid scored 35 points on 12-of-17 shooting in his return from a strained right oblique, Paul George added 28 in his first game back from a 25-game suspension, and the Philadelphia 76ers demolished the Chicago Bulls 157-137 on Wednesday night at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Philadelphia led for 98 percent of the game, built a 47-point lead, and never faced anything resembling competitive resistance until a garbage-time fourth quarter. The Bulls fall to 29-43. The 76ers improve to 40-33.

Josh Giddey led Chicago with 23 points, 9 rebounds, and 12 assists, though the numbers came largely in a game that was decided before the second half began. Matas Buzelis had 18 points, and Tre Jones added 15. Off the bench, Leonard Miller scored 15 and Collin Sexton had 16. The Bulls lost Jalen Smith (right calf) in the first quarter after just six minutes and Nick Richards (right elbow) in the first half after nine, compounding an already difficult night. Chicago was also without Zach Collins, Jaden Ivey, and Anfernee Simons. VJ Edgecombe added 22 points for Philadelphia on 7-of-9 shooting. Tyrese Maxey (right finger tendon strain) missed his 10th straight game and Kelly Oubre Jr. (left elbow strain) sat for the eighth consecutive contest.

Embiid Looked Like Embiid, and the Bulls Had No Answer

This game was over almost as soon as it started. Embiid, returning from a strained right oblique that had kept him out for 13 games, showed no signs of rust. He made 6 of his first 9 shots in the opening quarter — including all three of his three-point attempts — and scored 15 first-quarter points that set the tone for everything that followed. Edgecombe added 11 in the period on 3-of-4 shooting plus 4-of-5 from the free throw line. The Bulls actually kept it close early — Jones hit a driving floater off a Giddey assist and converted the and-one free throw, then Giddey knocked down a pullup jumper to tie the game 5-5 at the 10:04 mark. But from there, Embiid took over. He rattled off a 14-foot pullup, a 10-foot fadeaway, a driving layup, and another three — all within a four-minute stretch — and Philadelphia's lead ballooned. Giddey had 6 points and 2 assists in the quarter and Tre Jones scored 5, but the rest of the starting lineup combined for 2 points — Nick Richards on a 1-of-3 performance before leaving with his elbow injury, Buzelis going 0-of-2 with 2 turnovers, and Jalen Smith contributing nothing before exiting with his recurring calf issue after six minutes. Philadelphia led 38-26 after one.

"Even before Jalen got hurt, Nick got hurt, we didn't start off the game shooting the ball well," coach Billy Donovan said. He thought the poor start bled into all aspects of the game and there was no recovery.

The second quarter was more of the same. Giddey was the only Bull doing damage, scoring 10 points on 3-of-4 shooting with two threes and a banked fadeaway. But Philadelphia was methodical — Embiid scored 8 more on free throws and a floater, Justin Edwards had 5 off the bench with a pullup jumper and a three, and Quentin Grimes added 5 on a three and a layup off an Edgecombe assist. Buzelis hit a pair of threes and made his free throws for 8 in the period, but Chicago shot just 10-of-24 in the quarter and trailed 71-52 at the half. Embiid had 23 first-half points. George, in contrast, was struggling — he missed 8 of his first 10 field goals and had only 5 points through two quarters.

The third quarter was the worst twelve minutes of the Bulls' season. Philadelphia outscored Chicago 51-32 — yes, 51 points in a single quarter — and the game turned from a blowout into something bordering on humiliation. George found his rhythm at last, scoring 10 on 4-of-4 shooting with a pair of threes. Embiid added 12 on 5-of-7 with 5 assists, orchestrating the offense as much as he was dominating it. Edgecombe hit two more threes. Cameron Payne connected on two threes of his own off the bench. The 76ers shot 55 percent from the field and 47 percent from three as a team in the period. Giddey, who had been the Bulls' only source of offense, went scoreless in the third on 0-of-2 shooting with 4 turnovers. Okoro hit two threes and Sexton added 6, but the hole was already too deep. Philadelphia led 122-84 entering the fourth — a 38-point margin with twelve minutes to play.

The fourth quarter was empty calories. Chicago outscored Philadelphia 53-35, but the 76ers had pulled their starters. George stayed in long enough to score 13 fourth-quarter points on 5-of-8 shooting — including three consecutive baskets early in the period that drew cheers from the Philly crowd — before taking a seat. The Bulls' reserves poured it on: Miller scored 13 on 5-of-7 with a three, Dillingham added 10 on 4-of-6, and Yabusele hit a three and went 3-of-3 from the line for 6 points. Patrick Williams had 4 and Lachlan Olbrich got 2. It was the kind of fourth quarter that flatters the box score without changing the story. The final: 76ers 157, Bulls 137.

Giddey's Numbers Were Good, the Context Was Not

Giddey's 23 points, 9 rebounds, and 12 assists look excellent on paper — one rebound shy of a triple-double, his most efficient scoring night in weeks at 8-of-13 from the field and 3-of-6 from three. But the context matters. He was a -15 for the game, and his best work came in the first two quarters when the Bulls were already drowning. In the first half, he had 16 points and 4 assists on 6-of-9 shooting — genuinely sharp. In the third quarter, when the game went from bad to worse, he went scoreless with 4 turnovers in 8 minutes. He bounced back with 7 points, 5 assists, and a +7 in the fourth, but that was against Philadelphia's deep bench with the outcome long decided. After Monday's 15-point, 13-assist, 2-turnover gem against Houston, Wednesday was a step backward — not because of the stat line, but because nothing he did changed the trajectory of the game.

"We're not mathematically eliminated, but we're pretty much eliminated," Giddey said afterward. "I think the important thing the rest of the season is we try and play the right way."

Buzelis had 18 points on 6-of-15 shooting with 4-of-10 from three, 8 rebounds, and 3 blocks. The blocks were a welcome sign — his length and activity on the defensive end remain his most intriguing trait — but his 3 turnovers and -15 for the game reflected the same reality as everyone else who played meaningful minutes. He scored 8 in the second quarter on a pair of threes and free throws, then managed just 3 in the third on 1-of-2 before adding 7 in the fourth against reserves. Against a defense as locked in as Philadelphia's was through three quarters, Buzelis had trouble creating space off the dribble and forced several contested jumpers.

Miller's fourth quarter was the one genuine bright spot. He scored 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting with a three, grabbed 6 rebounds including an offensive board, and posted a game-best +25 in 9 minutes. Dillingham added 10 on 4-of-6 in 12 fourth-quarter minutes at a +18. These are the kind of performances that look empty in a 20-point loss, but for a team evaluating its young players in the final weeks of a lost season, the effort level from the bench in the fourth quarter was at least worth noting. Sexton had 16 on 5-of-9 but was a team-worst -29, and his 8 first-quarter points were washed away by a rough stretch in the second and third periods.

Looking Ahead

The Bulls are 29-43 and sit 23 games behind Detroit in the Central Division. They are 5-12 since the All-Star break. Wednesday's loss was the kind of performance that defies positive spin — the Bulls trailed for 98 percent of the game, lost two starters to injuries, and allowed 51 points in a single quarter. The third quarter in particular was what Donovan called "disappointing," and Giddey's assessment of the team's playoff odds was about as direct as a player can get without explicitly saying the season is over. Chicago heads to Oklahoma City on Friday night at 7:00 p.m. ET on NBA TV, and Smith's calf situation — a recurring issue that has cost him multiple games already this season — will bear monitoring.

For Philadelphia, the win moved the 76ers to 40-33 and kept them in seventh place in the Eastern Conference, 8.5 games behind Boston. The story was Embiid and George. Embiid looked like the 2023 MVP — 35 points on 12-of-17 shooting, 3-of-3 from three, 8-of-9 from the line, 7 assists, all in 28 minutes. George's night required patience. He was 2-of-10 from the field in the first half with 5 points, then flipped a switch: 23 second-half points on 9-of-12 shooting, including three consecutive baskets early in the fourth that brought the crowd to its feet. He finished 11-of-22 with 6-of-13 from deep. If both are healthy and available for the stretch run, Philadelphia's playoff ceiling rises significantly. The 76ers visit Charlotte on Saturday. Despite the blowout, the Bulls still won the season series 2-1 after taking both meetings in Chicago earlier this year.