The Chicago Bulls are locked into their position as the No. 9 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs, but they still hope to end the regular season with a win Sunday when they visit the Philadelphia 76ers.
Chicago (38-43) needs one win to match its victory total from last season.
Regardless of the outcome of Sunday’s contest, however, the Bulls will host the Miami Heat in the play-in tournament Wednesday.
“The guys earned the right to be able to play in the game, and that’s a great thing. I’m excited about it,” said Chicago coach Billy Donovan, who added that he “would expect all of our guys to play” in Sunday’s regular-season finale.
Do-it-all swingman Josh Giddey (wrist) sat out Friday’s 119-89 win over the Washington Wizards — the team’s fifth victory in the last six games. Julian Phillips picked up the slack with a career-high 23 points on 7-of-11 shooting, while Nikola Vucevic chipped in 15 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists.
The Bulls, who sat at 24-38 in early March, have won 14 of their last 19 games — and they are coming off one of their best defensive efforts of the season. Chicago allowed only 89 points against Washington, its fewest points to an opponent this season.
“We went through a lot,” Donovan said. “The one thing I appreciated about the group was I think every night, they lined up and we made winning a priority. We were trying to win. We weren’t always great, but I thought we stuck together, I thought we competed, I thought we played really hard.”
Meanwhile, Philadelphia (24-57) continues to play hard despite the absence of virtually every key player on its roster. The Sixers had hoped to contend for a championship this season, but instead they will finish with the fifth-worst record in the NBA.
As a bit of a silver lining, the season has provided a chance for the team’s younger players — and recent acquisitions — to show what they can do on a nightly basis.
For instance, 2024 second-round pick Adem Bona has progressed nicely as the season has evolved. He shot 8-of-9 from the field for 18 points while adding six rebounds and three blocks in Friday’s 124-110 loss to the Atlanta Hawks.
“It’s been great to see him grow. As a rookie, that’s hard to do,” said Philadelphia guard Jared Butler, who led the team with 25 points and seven assists against Atlanta.
The Sixers only had eight players available for that game and likely will be short-handed once again for Sunday’s contest. One player who will be available, however, is forward Marcus Bagley, who had the best game of his young career Friday.
An undrafted rookie out of Arizona State, Bagley registered 20 points and 10 rebounds — both career highs — against the Hawks. His previous bests over his first eight NBA games were nine points and eight boards.
“No matter what stats I have, just to be out here playing is a dream come true,” Bagley said. “Just thankful for the opportunity, for sure.”
Philadelphia is 2-1 against Chicago this season, although the Bulls won the most recent matchup, 142-110, on Feb. 24.
