Joel Embiid’s 50 points, 17 rebounds power 76ers to 112-105 win over Bulls

The victory improved the Sixers to 20-10 and gave them a 1 ½-game lead over the Brooklyn Nets atop the Eastern Conference. And there could be fans in the stands soon.

Joel Embiid (21) rises up for a shot over Chicago Bulls forward Thaddeus Yong (21) during the second quarter.Read moreHEATHER KHALIFA / Staff Photographer

by Keith Pompey

Updated Feb. 19, 2021, 11:26 p.m. ET

Published Feb. 19, 2021, 10:07 p.m. ET

The 76ers are back to streaking in the right direction.

Friday’s 112-105 victory over the Chicago Bulls at the Wells Fargo Center marked their second straight victory after losing their previous three games. Joel Embiid dominated, finishing with a career-high 50 points to go with 17 rebounds and four blocks.

“It’s rare when you say this, but we needed every point tonight,” Doc Rivers said. “You know, we struggled. Other than really Tobias [Harris] and Joel, we just couldn’t get anything going. We were having one of those nights.”

The center, who on Thursday was named an All-Star game starter for the fourth straight season, suffered a bloody nose in the first quarter but stayed in the game.

Tobias Harris added 22 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists, while Ben Simmons missed his second straight game with an illness. Zach LaVine paced the Bulls with a 30 points, but made just 9 of 28 shots.

“Those two guys put us on their backs tonight and won the game for us,” Rivers said.

The victory improved the Sixers to 20-10 and gave them a 1 ½-game lead over the Brooklyn Nets atop the Eastern Conference. Meanwhile, the Bulls dropped to 12-16 and had their two-game winning streak snapped.

For the second straight game, the Sixers were allowed to have up to 100 family members, staff members and friends in attendance. They had to stay in a suite. However, the hope is to have that number of fans increase soon.

The Sixers, Flyers and Wells Fargo Center officials recently sent the city a proposal to have 5,000 fans in attendance for games beginning some time next month, according to sources. One of the sources said they asked for 5,000, but would be satisfied with 2,500.

More than a dozen NBA teams are currently allowing fans in the stands. The Dallas Mavericks, Utah Jazz and Orlando Magic have the largest allowable crowds at up to 4,000 per game.

As was the case Friday, the Sixers’ in-game entertainment had the arena rocking under the circumstances. But it’s a completely different atmosphere when fans are in attendance, of course.

Ben Simmons was out of action for the second straight game. He was listed as probable for the contest, even though he did not participate in the morning shootaround.

On Wednesday, Rivers told reporters he thought Simmons had a stomach flu, and the team didn’t believe the illness was related to COVID-19. Simmons did not participate in Friday morning’s shootaround.

All this comes after he finished with a career-high 42 points to go with 12 assists and nine rebounds in Monday’s 134-123 loss to the Utah Jazz. In all, Simmons has now missed five games this season. The Sixers are 2-3 without him.

Shake Milton also missed Friday’s game with a sprained left ankle. This will be the fifth straight game that he’s been sidelined suffering the injury on Feb. 9 against the Sacramento Kings.

Milton participated in scrimmage on Friday with his younger teammates and members of the Sixers skill development staff.

“Shake looked great today,” coach Doc Rivers said. “I would anticipate seeing Shake next game. ... He got up and down the floor [in the scrimmage]. Really, the reason we wouldn’t play him today is we worry about swelling happens after the workout.

“So we have to wait and see how that goes.”