GAME NIGHT FROM THE UNITED CENTER: Philadelphia (43-21, 18-14 on the road) At Bulls: (26-38, 12-19 at home). 8PM.
RADIO: WBBM 780 : Chuck Swirsky and Bill Wennington. 7:45pre.
TV: NBCSC: Adam Amin and Stacey King. 8PM
LEADING SCORERS: Bulls: Vucevic: 22ppg. Philly: Embiid: 23ppg.
LEADING REBOUNDERS: Bulls: Vucevic: 10per Philly: Embiid: 10per.
LEADING ASSISTS: Bulls: Satoransky: 4.8 Philly: Simmons: 7per
SEASON SERIES: Philadelphia 2-0.
CCI PREVIEW: The Bulls need a win. Period. Having lost three straight and trailing Washington for the final play in seed, the Bulls realize time and games are running in short supply. With eight games remaining the Bulls need to take care of business against a 76ers team that was extended in to overtime last night in San Antonio, prevailing 113-111 on a Ben Simmons tip in as time expired. The Bulls slipped to the 12th seed as the Raps jumped ahead of the Bulls thanks to a road win over the Lakers.
The last NBA Injury Report released at 7:30PM Sunday night, the Bulls listed Zach LaVine "doubtful" for tonight's game. Nikola Vucevic is questionable with an adductor issue that forced him to miss his first game as a Bull Saturday against the Hawks. Troy Brown remains sidelined with a left ankle sprain. Who will play tonight for the 76ers? Will they sit players in second games of back to backs? I'll update our CCI readers throughout the day on Twitter. The 76ers lead the season series 2-0. When healthy, which the Sixers are, they are a dangerous team. Philly has two superstars in Joel Embiid and Simmons with a superb "third" player in Tobias Harris who is a legitimate star. The Bulls will need to play a full 48.
CCI NBA NEWS AND NOTES
Our CCI "Game of the Night": Milwaukee 117, Brooklyn 114. Giannis Antetokounmpo did some heavy lifting scoring 49 points. Kevin Durant answered with 42. The Bucks picked up a full game on the Nets and trail Brooklyn by 2 1/2 games for the second seed. The 76ers are now atop the EC by virtue of a win at San Antonio. The Nets-Bucks play again in Milwaukee tomorrow.
Philadelphia 113, San Antonio 111 OT. The Spurs played without four starters. Ben Simmons tip in as time expired won it for Philly who overtook Brooklyn for the top spot in the EC. Going in to the game, the 76ers listed no injuries to report. Amazing!
Toronto 121, Los Angeles Lakers 114. The Raps sat Fred VanVleet and OG Anunoby but Kyle Lowry stepped up and scored 37 points. Pascal Siakam scored 17 of his game high 39 points in the opening quarter. LeBron James left the game in the fourth quarter with a recurring ankle issue.
Portland 129, Boston 119. The Trail Blazers improved to 4-0 on their six game road trip. CJ McCollum scored 10 of his 33 points in the fourth quarter.
New York 122, Houston 97. Another big night for Julius Randle who scored 31 points in three quarters for the 36-28 Knicks. NY has won 11 of its last 12 games.
Miami 121, Charlotte 111. A huge road win for the Heat. The Heat moved in to sole possession of the sixth seed.
Sacramento 111, Dallas 90. The Kings swept the season season against the Mavs. Luka Doncic and Mavs Coach Rick Carlisle were ejected with 31 seconds remaining.
Phoenix 123, Oklahoma City 120. Devin Booker scored 32 points. The Thunder have lost 20 of 22 games.
Thanks for reading CCI. Reach out: cswirsky@bulls.com or Twitter @ctsbulls
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