Chicago Hands Philadelphia its 8th Straight Loss in 32-Point Demolition

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

The Chicago Bulls added to the continuing woes of the Philadelphia 76ers after pummeling them by 32 points, 142-110, in the ongoing NBA regular season on February 25, 2025.

With another defeat, Philadelphia just suffered its eighth consecutive loss of the season, their longest since former Los Angeles Clippers star Paul George decided to team up with Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey.

Despite all the painful lessons from their close defeat against the Brooklyn Nets and a missed chance against the Boston Celtics, it seemed like the 76ers barely pressed the emergency button after putting up a shaky outing against the Bulls on their own home floor.

The 76ers got sloppy on the defensive end as early as the opening quarter after giving up 39 big points, followed by a turnover-plagued second-frame performance that allowed the Bulls to establish a 17-point advantage heading into the second half.

That first half helped Chicago gain a much-needed momentum on the road, backstopped by their waxing hot shooting from the three-point line and an efficient trip to the charity stripe.

Out of the 36 times that the Bulls got to the line, the visiting squad only missed two free throws and ended the win with an impressive 34/36 shooting from the charity stripe.

Meanwhile, Josh Giddey, Kevin Huerter, and Coby White’s streaky shooting comprised most of Chicago’s 18 drained three-pointers, which resulted in a 45% shooting from downtown.

With the way Chicago shot the ball and ran their offense, the flat and disoriented Philadelphia team failed to show any kind of resistance in the second half as they continued to communicate poorly on their defensive reads.

Because of their lack of fire and sense of urgency, Philadelphia head coach Nick Nurse decided to bench all of his starters at the fourth to send a message to the whole roster.

The Bulls out-assisted the 76ers, 32-19, and went off to the races everytime they got a steal as they scored a total of 26 points off turnovers.

Giddey was a man on a mission against the 76ers as he iced the win with an all-around performance of 25 points, 16 rebounds, six assists, three blocks, and a steal.

Meanwhile, Huerter, who single-handedly torched Philadelphia in the second quarter, ended up with 23 markers derived from seven converted three-pointers.

Zach Collins already looked comfortable in a Chicago uniform as he chipped in 19 points while the duo of Dalen Terry and Matas Buzelis added 17 apiece.

The Bulls will gun for a back-to-back win on February 27, 2025, against the Clippers while the 76ers will search for answers and hope to halt their slump on the same date against the New York Knicks.