Ben Simmons made 2 free throws with 5.6 seconds left, and the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Chicago Bulls 116-115 for their sixth straight win.
The Bulls had the ball down 1 after a timeout, but Denzel Valentine missed a 10-foot jumper at the buzzer that would have put them ahead.
During clutch time, the 76ers outscored the Bulls 10-8. Simmons scored 4 of the 76ers’ 10 on 1 for 2 shooting and 2 for 4 at the line. In the fourth quarter, Joel Embiid had 2 of his 3 steals, one of them leading to T.J. McConnell’s layup that put the 76ers ahead 95-93, and the 76ers scored 4 points off them.
Simmons had a career-high 32 points and 11 assists on 13 for 18 shooting, and Embiid added 30 points, 13 rebounds, 3 steals and 4 blocks. The 76ers had 2 30-point scorers.
For the Bulls, Bobby Portis had a career-high 38 points and 8 rebounds off the bench, and Zach LaVine added 23 points (12 in the second quarter) with 5 3-pointers. David Nwaba had a career-high 21 points (12 in the paint) and 9 rebounds. The Bulls had 3 20-point scorers.
The Bulls outscored the 76ers 58-19 off the bench. The Bulls’ starters were outscored 35-17 in 11 minutes together. Nwaba fouled out.