Joel Embiid’s dagger three-pointer saves Sixers in ugly 114-109 win over the Chicago Bulls

CHICAGO — This was a somewhat ugly outing for the 76ers.

They blew a 19-point lead. James Harden struggled mightily from the field. It took Tyrese Maxey a long time to find his rhythm due to early foul trouble. And Joel Embiid missed a pair of foul shots with 61 seconds remaining in a tie game.

Yet the Sixers walked out of the United Center Saturday night with a cherished 114-109 victory, thanks to Embiid’s late heroics. The All-Star center shook off the missed free throws and buried a 25-foot three-pointer with 18.1 seconds left. Then, on the ensuing possession, he made a defensive play at the rim to alter an opponent’s shot.

» READ MORE: Doc Rivers, a Chicago native, professes his love for the city before Sixers-Bulls

After a P.J. Tucker turnover and an Alex Caruso steal and missed three-pointer, Tobias Harris iced the game with a pair of foul shots with 4 seconds left.

This marked a second victory in as many nights after starting 1-4.

“It’s the NBA, you got to take them whenever you can,” Embiid said of the victory, which improved the Sixers to 3-4. “But that doesn’t mean that was a great one. We got a lot of work to do. We blew up the lead, mainly, by the playing the right way.

“So we need to be focused and better for 48 minutes.”

Embiid paced the team with 25 points after missing Friday’s 112-90 victory over the Raptors in Toronto. However, the All-Star couldn’t believe he missed two free throws late. He thought both of them were going in.

“But it happens,” he said. “Some moments you [stink], some moments you are good. But I was able to be wide open for the next one [the three-pointer]. There was no way I wasn’t taking that because I missed the two free throws.

“I trusted myself and I was bound to make it.”

Georges Niang was a spark off the bench, scoring 15 points while making 3 of 4 three-pointers.

But the Sixers had their share of flaws.

They committed 19 turnovers that led to 29 Bulls points.

Harden made just 2 of 13 shots while finishing with 15 points and 11 assists. Maxey had 14 points on 5-for-14 shooting one night after scoring a career-high 44 points in Toronto. And they had no answers for Bulls center Nik Vucevic, who finished with 23 points and 19 rebounds. He also made 5 of 7 three-pointers.

For the second consecutive night, Matisse Thybulle was the Sixers’ sixth man. However, the big change came when Shake Milton entered the game ahead of struggling Danuel House Jr., who came into the game shooting just 20.3% on three-pointers.

Another change was the Sixers’ decision to go to an all-bench lineup of Milton, Thybulle, Montrezl Harrell, Niang and De’Anthony Melton during the final 2 minutes, 44 seconds of the first quarter and the first 1:05 of the second.

That group went on a 13-3 run to give the Sixers a 39-22. Thybulle picked up his third foul 1:05 into the second quarter and was replaced by Maxey. But House replaced Maxey with 8:13 left in the half.

The Sixers had a commanding 19-point lead in the second quarter. However, the Bulls went on an 18-2 run to pull within 56-53 with 1:41 left before intermission.

After the teams exchanged three-pointers, the Sixers scored the final five points of the half to weather the storm. Melton had a layup followed by a Tucker three-pointer to give them an eight-point cushion at the break.

However, the Bulls went on another run in the third quarter. This time, it was a 17-4 effort that gave them an 81-76 cushion with 4:15 left in the quarter.

Chicago (3-3) wasn’t alone in this game of runs.

The Sixers regained the lead and had a 95-90 edge with 21.9 seconds left in the third quarter, thanks to a 14-4 run.

» READ MORE: Tyrese Maxey’s career-high 44 points propels Sixers to 112-90 victory over Toronto Raptors

The Sixers will travel to Washington on Sunday for Monday’s game against the Wizards at Capital One Arena. Monday’s matchup will mark Washington’s second game in as many days. The Wizards (3-2) face the Boston Celtics at TD Garden on Sunday night.

The Sixers lost two of last season’s three regular-season meetings with Washington.