NBA news: The Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Chicago Bulls 119-108 on Sunday, clinching the season-series tiebreaker against the Bulls, but the victory was not easy.

Despite the absence of both Lonzo Ball and Zach LaVine, the Bulls still had NBA All-Star DeMar DeRozan, who did all in his power to help Chicago win.

On an 18-for-30 shooting, DeRozan scored 45 points. He went 9-for-11 from the charity stripe. He pulled down nine rebounds.

For the Bulls, he also collected seven assists. He didn’t make a single 3-pointer in a league where the 3-point shooting reigns supreme.

Joel Embiid stated, “He’s a fairly talented player.” “I’ve always believed he was underappreciated. When it comes to what he can accomplish on the court, the way he plays. The footwork reminds me a little bit of Kobe (Bryant), just the footwork. The difficult shots he takes, all from mid-range, and his ability to do everything on the floor, as I mentioned. He’s certainly underappreciated, and I’ve always admired him.”

NBA news: Joel Embiid vs DeMar DeRozan

Embiid led Philadelphia with 40 points and 10 rebounds, and the Sixers needed every one of them.

Coach Doc Rivers commented, “Boy, DeRozan was tough.” “He was the real deal.” We threw a lot of zones and traps at him since he’s a strong opponent. Anyone who claims that the in-between game is unimportant in this game has no idea what basketball is all about. That man was amazing today, and we needed every one of Joel’s 40 points to keep it going.”

The Sixers tried a variety of looks at DeRozan, but none of them worked. He was putting up big numbers against double teams. In a zone defense, he found his shots. He was getting called for fouls. Defending him had the Sixers stumped all day.

Rivers continued, “You can’t rush him and speed him up, which we tried to do a number of times.” “He turned down a lot of the displays that we need to improve on.” You can’t let him reject if you’re going to double-team him, and he did. When we went there one-on-one, he assaulted the zone. He’s simply a really shrewd, astute, and astute scorer.”

DeRozan went 2-for-7 in the fourth quarter, the Sixers’ most successful period.

“Just make it appear difficult,” Tobias Harris suggested. “He’s such a tremendous free-throw shooter, he had a bunch of contested 2s, tough shots that went in as well.” You’ll have to live with some of them. Many of them may have been a genuine effort, particularly when I was guarding him.”

He’s a strange guy to defend since he doesn’t really go for the 3-point jumper — he only attempted two on Sunday — which makes it difficult to figure out how to defend him and where to send him for help.

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