76ers Look to Extend Their Strong Start Against Struggling Bulls

By NBA Stat Desk How we produce articles

Philadelphia's form and Tyrese Maxey's scoring make the 76ers the pick over a reeling Chicago team.

CHI @ PHI Nov 3, 2026 at 12:30 AM UTC

Philadelphia enters at 6-1 after a 98-93 win over the NBA champion Knicks, and the way it won should travel. LeBron James scored 20 points, including a late tip-in, and added nine rebounds, eight assists, a steal and a chase-down block. Nick Nurse called it his best game since James joined the team. Tyrese Maxey led all Sixers scorers with 27, which gives Philadelphia a clear primary option to lean on.

Chicago arrives at 1-5 and coming off a 125-111 loss to Boston. Allowing 125 is the number that stands out against a Sixers team that has a reliable scorer in Maxey and a veteran creator in James. The Bulls have to show they can defend for a full game before they can be trusted to hang with a team playing this well.

The injury picture adds some uncertainty. One source lists Joel Embiid, James and Barlow as out for Philadelphia. If that holds, the rotation will not match the one that beat New York, and Maxey would carry even more of the creation and scoring. Chicago has its own gaps, with Nic Claxton out and Swain questionable, which thins its interior options on both ends.

Philadelphia also showed a weakness against the Knicks. It led by 14 in the third quarter and still had to weather a late surge. That gives Chicago a path to keep this close if it can string together stops. Still, the Sixers have the better record, the better recent form and the more dependable scoring, and those edges should show up. Look for Philadelphia to pull away late in a game the Bulls keep within reach for a while.

Prediction: 76ers 108, Bulls 99.

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