Thursday NBA: Sixers (40-37) at Bulls (38-40)
The Chicago Bulls surprisingly have become one of the NBA’s top-scoring teams since the trade deadline, and the Bulls can move one step closer to returning to the playoffs with a win over Philadelphia on Thursday night.
Chicago is a 6-point favorite on WagerWeb.com.
The Bulls have lost two of three meetings with Philly this season but have won five games in a row at home. They can clinch a playoff spot if they beat Philadelphia and Charlotte loses to Oklahoma City on Friday night. The Bulls have won 12 of their last 13 at the United Center, and are battling Detroit for the seventh seed. They even could catch Philly for No. 6, as the Bulls are just 2.5 games behind the Sixers.
After scoring more than 100 points in six straight games and 10 of 11, the Bulls are now eighth in the NBA with their average of 102.1 points per game. That’s the franchise’s highest-scoring average since the 1996-97 NBA champions scored 103.1 ppg. Most of that is due to trade deadline newcomers Brad Miller and John Salmons, who is averaging 22 points in the past 11 games. The Bulls are 31-15 when scoring more than 100 points this season.
The Sixers, meanwhile have lost two straight to sub-.500 teams and really miss injured forward Thaddeus Young, who averaged 15.2 points per game and was a key in the team’s fastbreak style. He might be back for the playoffs. Sixers coach Tony DiLeo said Young’s absence has been a difficult blow for the team.
“We’re trying to compensate for that, but that’s not an excuse,” DiLeo said. “Injuries happen. We feel we have guys on this team that can pick up some of the scoring slack, like Marreese Speights and Lou Williams.”
When these teams last met on March 13, the Sixers won 104-101 in the last NBA game ever played in the Philly Spectrum. Young tallied a career-high 31 points, while Andre Iguodala added 25 points and Andre Miller 13 points and 13 assists.
The Sixers have won three straight in Chicago, including 103-95 in overtime Dec. 2. Iguodala is averaging 21.6 points against the Bulls over the last two seasons.
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