Bulls' Bench Dismantles 76ers in Clutch, Leading to Fifth Straight Win

It's not often that the bench outperforms the starters, but you see plenty of examples with the Chicago Bulls.

The bench — one of the major factors to the Bulls' dream start this season — headlined Friday night with Jalen Smith's poster dunk on Joel Embiid and 59 points off the pine, sealing their 109-102 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday at the United Center. After snatching its sixth victory in the last seven games after a seven-game skid. Chicago now rides a five-game winning streak, the longest active winning streak in the Eastern Conference.

The 76ers' rematch was vastly different from their early-season meeting, when the Bulls erased a 24-point deficit to complete a rally. This time, Embiid and Paul George — who missed the first matchup — were available. Though the duo's starting power is fading while Tyrese Maxey rises, both switched to secondary roles to impact the offense with veteran leadership, keeping Philadelphia competitive.

Simultaneously, the Bulls were re-navigating their identity and gradually finding their groove after a disastrous stretch. With two consecutive games at full health, new oils added to the machine resulted in better execution. A tough, close game Friday night at the United Center was expected, and the Bulls managed to extend their Christmas afterglow.

Trailing 13-2 at the start, the Bulls, led by Zach Collins' 10 points in a short span, awoke later in the first quarter and retook the lead. The bench stole the show during the first half, scoring 28 points while the starters went cold. Despite relying on the second unit to build early momentum, Chicago's offensive prowess ceased in the second frame, where they scored only 19 and trailed by three at halftime.

But the bench came up big again in the third, outscoring Philadelphia's reserves 19-0 while the 76ers' bench contributed nothing. Though the Sixers maintained their advantage entering the final period, the bench's overperforming stretch set the stage for the close-out.

With four minutes left, Billy Donovan subbed off his second unit. Instead of bringing all starters back, he inserted Ayo Dosunmu and Jalen Smith alongside Josh Giddey, Coby White and Nikola Vucevic while trailing 97-100. Donovan's decision marked something important: he was seriously experimenting with a two-big formation, pairing Vucevic with Smith.

Though the Bulls erased a 10-point deficit in the third, the 76ers had the confidence to deliver the last punch — George's splashing threes on the weak side, Embiid's awkward but effective foul-drawing moves and Maxey's consistent dominance. However, the Bulls didn't yield.

Beyond keeping the lineup big to protect the rim, what intrigued me about Donovan's adjustment was his decision to use Smith in the closing lineup—a rarity. Smith didn't disappoint, stepping up to impact the win. His offensive rebound and screen, as the clip shows below, led to Giddey's floater in the next possession, cutting it to a one-point game. After Embiid responded with a driving layup, the 76ers' final field goal, the Bulls ignited their 10-0 grand-finale run.

As Giddey rejuvenated his instinctive threat, Philadelphia started double-teaming the Bulls' guard. Capitalizing on that, Giddey found Smith left open in the corner. Instead of taking a three he'd been flexing all season, Smith decisively attacked the lane, stretching his arm up and stunning a stunned Embiid with a poster dunk.

While the 76ers remained scoreless in the final two minutes, Vucevic's block on Maxey's accelerating drive, combined with White's crunchtime step-back three and a crucial on-floor assist to Tre Jones for a layup, built a four-point Bulls lead that forced a timeout.

Donovan kept Jones and Smith on the court. After Smith's heroics, the spotlight fell on Jones, who hustled for two offensive rebounds in a row to reload possessions in the final minute and later converted two of White's missed shots into a second-chance layup.

The Bulls not only certified their resilience to close games firmly but also demonstrated a microcosm of the collective theory that Donovan preached: "help each other" on the court. Friday's win was a strong statement proving their progress in achieving that standard.