23 Points For Lauri Markkanen As He Returns, But Bulls Lose To 76ers

CHICAGO (AP) — Tobias Harris scored 24 points and the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Chicago Bulls 127-105 Thursday night even though they were missing stars Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons for contact tracing.

With Harris leading a balanced attack, the Sixers had more than enough to get by without their two best players.

Dwight Howard scored a season-high 18 and grabbed 12 rebounds. Furkan Korkmaz added 16 points, and Tony Bradley scored a season-high 14 on 7-for-7 shooting. The 6-foot-10 center also got this shoutout on Twitter from Embiid during the game: "That's it!!! I've seen enough. Build around Tony Bradley @sixers".

Embiid and Simmons both traveled to Atlanta for Sunday's All-Star game, only to learn the night before they were flagged for contact tracing. Though neither player tested positive for COVID-19, the barber they visited before leaving did.

Embiid, who scored a career-high 50 points and grabbed 17 rebounds in a win over the Bulls last month, is expected to return Friday at Washington. Simmons is to miss one more game.

Lauri Markkanen, back from a sprained right shoulder, led Chicago with 23 points. The 7-footer from Finland made all seven 3-pointers in his first appearance since Feb. 5.

All-Star Zach LaVine scored 19, and Coby White finished with 18 points.

Matisse Thybulle capped an 8-0 spurt with a 3-pointer to make it 84-69 with 5:43 left in the third quarter, and the 76ers remained in control the rest of the way.

Milton hit a layup at the buzzer to start a 13-0 run, capped by a dunk by Howard's alley-oop dunk to make it 108-85 with 9:40 left in the game.

TIP-INS

76ers: Doc Rivers coached the team after missing practice the previous day because of an illness. ... Rivers said Embiid and Simmons have been working out on their own: "They feel great. I guess that's the most important thing."

Bulls: The Bulls were basically at full strength with Markkanen and Otto Porter Jr. available. Porter had three points in 18 minutes after being sidelined since Feb. 1 because of back spasms. "We just haven't been healthy for a good portion of the year," coach Billy Donovan said. "We haven't had the full complement of players, so it's good to have everybody back." ... GM Marc Eversley was hired out of Philadelphia's front office last spring.

UP NEXT

76ers: Visit Washington on Friday.

Bulls: Host Miami on Friday.

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