The Chicago Bulls staged a remarkable comeback to defeat the visiting Philadelphia 76ers 113-111 on Tuesday in the NBA.
The Bulls were trailing by as many as 24 points in the second quarter and by over 20 points at halftime. However, the home team refused to give up despite the outstanding performance of Tyrese Maxey, who scored 39 points, and his teammates in the 76ers.
Veteran Montenegrin center Nikola Vučević scored 19 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, including a three-pointer with three seconds remaining that gave the Bulls the lead for the first time and secured the victory. Australian Josh Giddey had a triple-double with 29 points, 15 rebounds, and 12 assists.
The Bulls now lead the Eastern Conference standings with six wins and one loss.
Chicago Bulls coach Billy Donovan praised his team's strong second-half comeback but warned that they need to be more physically robust if they want to compete for titles this season. He said, "We were very physically frustrated in the first half. I appreciate the players' response in the second half. We don’t have the luxury of slacking or losing physical effort for 48 minutes."
He added, "We were lucky to win, but I am happy because they fought and never gave up and gave everything until the end. However, we won’t be a strong team if we only rely on fast breaks and shooting; we have to be more physically tough."
The Bulls, six-time NBA champions last winning in 1998 under the legendary Michael Jordan, who had won only one playoff game in the past eight seasons, hope they have emerged from their dark period despite the absence of their star players
