Maxey, Brown, Edgecombe Bury Chicago in 126-107 Blowout
Philadelphia dismantled Chicago 126-107 behind a four-man offensive assault that never really let the Bulls breathe. Tyrese Maxey finished with 26 points, 11 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks — the kind of line that makes opposing coaches lose sleep.
The first quarter told the whole story. VJ Edgecombe came out of nowhere and went on a personal 7-0 run inside three minutes — a two-point shot, a running dunk, and a 27-foot three-pointer, all assisted by Maxey or Jaylen Brown — to push Philadelphia to a 10-3 lead before Chicago could catch its breath. The Bulls clawed back through back-to-back dunks from Jalen Smith and got within one at 9-10, but Philadelphia answered every surge. Joel Embiid rattled off a fadeaway, a layup, a free throw, and a finger roll in a two-minute stretch to push the lead back to nine. Edgecombe added two more dunks before the quarter ended, and Philadelphia went into the second up 30-23.
The second quarter was where Chicago briefly made things interesting. Buddy Hield caught fire — a two-point shot, a free throw, and then a 27-foot three off a Josh Giddey feed — to flip the score to 41-40 in Chicago's favor with 6:41 left in the half. For a moment, it looked like the Bulls had something. They didn't. The win probability swung from 70% to 75% in Philadelphia's favor when Kentavious Caldwell-Pope — assisted by LeBron James — drained a 24-foot three-pointer at the 5:35 mark of the second quarter, and Philadelphia never looked back. LeBron James, for his part, finished with 15 points, 7 rebounds, and 9 assists — quietly orchestrating everything without needing to dominate the box score.
Jaylen Brown was the other engine Philadelphia needed. He put up 25 points and 11 rebounds, and his connection with Maxey — the two combined for a string of late first-quarter assists that kept extending the lead — looks like the kind of two-man chemistry that makes this team genuinely difficult to game-plan against. Chicago's best answer was Caleb Wilson, who posted 24 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, and 4 steals, and Norman Powell chipped in 18 off what appeared to be a bench role, but it wasn't close to enough. Patrick Williams was listed as a DNP — coach's decision — which, given how the game went, probably didn't change the outcome. Philadelphia's depth was simply too much: Edgecombe's 21 points on 5 assists off what appears to be a reserve role is the kind of problem Chicago had no answer for. Final: PHI 126, CHI 107.