Ben Simmons' triple-double leads Philadelphia 76ers past Chicago Bulls

Benyam Kidane

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Ben Simmons' triple-double leads Philadelphia 76ers past Chicago Bulls image

On a night celebrating all things Australia, Ben Simmons put on a show to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to a 118-111 win over the Chicago Bulls.

With their 10th-straight win at the Wells Fargo Center, the 76ers improve their home record to 24-2 this season, the best home record in the league.

Here are the key takeaways from today's game:

Simmons and Embiid take charge

Ben Simmons recorded his fifth triple-double of the season with 19 points, 10 assists, and 10 rebounds, adding four steals on the night. 

The Aussie was at his playmaking best, pushing the fast-break and finding open shooters as the 76ers notched 29 assists on 42 made field goals.


Philly led by as many as 15 points in the first half before the Bulls fought back in the third, thanks to Zach LaVine, who scored 15 of his game-high 32 points in the third quarter to tie the game at 83-83 heading into the fourth.

Embiid kick-started the 76ers push, scoring the first two buckets of the fourth quarter to give them the lead again before icing the result with a 3-pointer with 39 seconds to go.

After missing the second half of their win over the Grizzlies, Embiid outmuscled the Bulls inside, putting his size advantage to good use. Despite his impressive line, Embiid struggled to get his jump shot going for stretches in the first half, as he continues to find his rhythm since returning from a torn ligament in the ring finger of his left hand.

He finished with 28 points, 12 rebounds, and five assists on the night.

While the 76ers had their lapses defensively, letting the Bulls back into the game, they shot 50 percent from the field and 40.7 percent from the 3-point line (11-of-27).   

Have the 76ers found their answer in Korkmaz?

Following his career-high 34 points on Saturday against the Memphis Grizzlies, Furkan Korkmaz continued his recent run of form with 31 points in today's win.

Korkmaz was unstoppable from beyond the arc, going 6-of-11 from deep and 12-of-17 from the field, capping off his big night with this emphatic jam in the fourth quarter.

Per Elias Sports Bureau, Korkmaz joins JJ Redick as the only 76ers reserves to score 30+ points in consecutive games since bench stats were first tracked in 1970/71 as well as being the first player to score at least 30 points in consecutive games off the bench this season. 

"I think today as a team we played really good basketball," Korkmaz said post-game. "We had a little bit of ups and downs, but as a team at the end when you look at the score, we won the game so that was the really important thing and we just said welcome to our new guys and I hope we keep playing this way."

Despite adding shooters Glenn Robinson III and Alec Burks at the deadline, in the past two games, Korkmaz has shown just how reliable and effective he can be with his floor-spacing and dead-eye shooting.

All things Australia

For the third year in a row, the 76ers celebrated Australian Heritage Night, putting on a display of Australian culture at Wells Fargo Center.

This year's edition, in partnership with Four N' Twenty pies, helped contribute to the ongoing fundraising efforts for the bushfires in Australia, with every sale of a Four’N Twenty Traveller pie at the arena going toward the fire relief.

From a spider exhibit on the concourse, courtesy of the Philadelphia Insectarium to honouring the King of Prussia’s Finding Shelter Animal Rescue, there was no shortage of Australiana in the building.

The halftime fan shooting contest raised $3100 for bushfire relief efforts alone.

Simmons' teammates got in on the action, trying their hand at deciphering some classic Aussie slang, with some hilarious results.


Rookie Matisse Thybulle, who spent part of his childhood in Australia teamed up with Simmons and the 76ers, treating two lucky fans to a behind-the-scenes gameday experience to help raise money to go towards the bushfire relief efforts.


Proceeds raised through Australian Heritage Night will go to the Australian Red Cross and the Gippsland Emergency Relief Fund to support the communities which have been devastated by the bushfires and help them recover and rebuild.

The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NBA or its clubs.

Benyam Kidane

Benyam Kidane Photo

Benyam Kidane is a senior NBA editor and has been covering the league for The Sporting News since 2016. In his spare time you can find him watching Allen Iverson highlights on repeat.