Sixers blow past Chicago Bulls in 116-91 win, but Joel Embiid leaves game with calf tightness

CHICAGO — A sarcastic cheer rippled through the United Center crowd when Nikola Vucevic sank a free throw nearly four minutes into Wednesday’s first quarter.

The Bulls had finally scored a single point. But the 76ers had already created an insurmountable advantage.

After losing in double overtime to this opponent two nights prior, the Sixers put Chicago away early in a 116-91 blowout in Wednesday’s rematch — but now have at-least-temporary health questions about stars Joel Embiid and James Harden.

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Harden, the NBA’s leader in assists per game, missed the game with Achilles soreness. Embiid, meanwhile, did not play in the second half — or join his team on the bench — because of right calf tightness he said he initially felt during Monday’s loss and that flared up again Wednesday. Embiid and coach Doc Rivers described the MVP contender’s second-half absence as “precautionary,” and expressed optimism that he will be able to return as soon as Friday’s game at the defending-champion Golden State Warriors.

“Like I always say, it’s all about the playoffs,” said Embiid, adding that he received treatment in the visitors’ locker room during the second half. “Trying to make sure that I get there healthy. We’re just going to see how it goes the next few days. ... If it feels good, of course I want to play. But if it’s not right, then we’re going to figure out.”

Rivers said he also expects Harden to play against the Warriors, “but I can’t guarantee” that he will be ready.

Still, Wednesday’s dominant victory was the Sixers’ ninth in their past 10 games, and moved them to within a half-game of the idle Boston Celtics for second place in the Eastern Conference standings.

The Sixers’ start was red-hot — and historic. When Embiid’s dunk gave the Sixers a 21-1 lead with 7:41 to play in the first quarter, it was the second-fastest into a game that a team had amassed a 20-point advantage in the last 25 seasons, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. The fastest was when the Washington Wizards created that gap over the Brooklyn Nets only ten seconds sooner of the opening frame late in the 2015-16 season.

The Sixers’ advantage then reached 30 points late in the second quarter, when Tyrese Maxey and Tobias Harris hit back-to-back three-pointers to make the score 73-43. The Bulls never got closer than 17 in the second half. Rivers lauded the Sixers’ ball movement against Chicago’s aggressive defense following clunky execution in Monday’s loss.

“Just take what we learned from the last game and put it into play,” said Tobias Harris, who finished with 20 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. “Obviously, we got off to a great start, really, and were able to just let that fuel us through the whole night.

“Any time you have that type of lead and that cushion, it’s easy to get relaxed. But I thought we did a good job of just keeping it above 20 for the majority of the time.”

Before sitting out the entire second half, Embiid (12 points, seven rebounds, seven assists) initially looked on his way to challenging for his second triple-double of the season. Melton, meanwhile, led the Sixers (49-23) with 25 points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals on a night five Sixers finished in double figures. Maxey added 21 points, five rebounds and four assists.

Following Friday’s game at Golden State, the Sixers’ four-game road trip continues Saturday at the Phoenix Suns and Monday at the Denver Nuggets.

Melton chuckled with Maxey after botching a wide-open layup early in the first quarter. The reaction was understandable, because he immediately got the ball back after a Harris offensive rebound and laid it in — which gave the Sixers a 17-0 lead barely three minutes into the game.

That advantage eventually reached 23-1 at the 7:13 mark, a rare score in an NBA basketball game. The Sixers made nine of their first 11 shots, while the Bulls missed their first seven field-goal attempts. Chicago did not collect its first rebound until the 6:40 mark. That play led to the Bulls’ first field goal, a driving one-handed dunk by Vucevic.

“The letdown of losing the night before, I think everybody was locked in,” veteran forward P.J. Tucker said. “ ... I just liked our energy tonight, our focus.”

During that dominant first quarter, the Sixers held the Bulls to 8-of-20 from the floor and forced six turnovers. On the opposite end, Embiid had 12 points, four rebounds and three assists to pace a Sixers offense that made 14 of their 24 shots.

The Sixers then outscored the Bulls 40-25 in the second frame to build that 30-point lead.

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Tucker returned from a two-game absence with ankle soreness, overcoming two early fouls to finish with five points and three rebounds while spearheading the Sixers’ defense. Tucker said after the game that he did not feel 100% healthy, “but it was a good first game.”

He was the last Sixer in the rotation to score, hitting a jumper about midway through the second quarter that gave his team a 56-37 lead. Later in the period, he nailed a corner three-pointer.

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Tucker also guarded Bulls star DeMar DeRozan, including a first-half bump that caused DeRozan to exaggeratedly stagger out of bounds. DeRozan later left the game in the third quarter with a right quadriceps strain and did not return.

With Sixers reserve wing Jalen McDaniels (hip bruise) sitting out Wednesday, Danuel House Jr. (five points, two steals) was the Sixers’ first sub and played 19 minutes.