The Sixers threatened once again in the fourth quarter but never got over the hump in a 102-94 loss to the Chicago Bulls at the Wells Fargo Center on Wednesday night.
The loss extended the Sixers’ franchise-worst skid to 22 games and dropped their record to 15-53.
They are also climbing the charts for NBA losing streaks. The Sixers are now just four behind the league’s worst losing skid ever set by the 2010-11 Cleveland Cavaliers. Wednesday also marked the Sixers’ 17 straight home loss, just two behind the record set by the 1993-94 Dallas Mavericks.
Turning point
After tying to score at 85 in the fourth quarter, Chicago made consecutive three-pointers to stretch its lead to six with 5:56 left to play.
The Sixers closed the gap to three once after that but were unable to get any closer.
Follow the leader
D.J. Augustin and Taj Gibson combined for 39 points off the bench for the Bulls.
NBA
Joakim Noah had 14 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and four blocks.
Thaddeus Young had a game-high 24 points. Young shot 4 of 7 from three-point range and has made 12 threes over his last three games.
Michael Carter-Williams scored 16 points, grabbed nine rebounds and handed out seven assists.
Tony Wroten had 17 points, six rebounds and seven assists.
Stat-egic
The Sixers have the worst three-point percentage in the NBA at 30.7. Yet, on Monday night they made nine threes against the Indiana Pacers and were 11 for 24 from behind the arc against Chicago.
The Sixers were also connected on 11 shots from three-point range when they beat the Bulls at home back on Nov. 2 to start the season 3-0.
Take a bow
Byron Mullens had played just 1:41 and had two points when Sixers head coach Brett Brown put him in the game with 1:08 to go in the third quarter.
Mullens got going shortly after that, making threes on back-to-back possessions to give the Sixers a one-point lead in the fourth quarter.
The center played the entire fourth quarter and finished the game with 12 points.
Injury update
James Anderson was out of the Sixers’ lineup for a second straight game with a quad contusion. Wroten made his 15th start of the season in Anderson’s place.
What’s next?
The Sixers host the New York Knicks on Friday night in the final meeting of the season between the two Atlantic Division clubs. The Knicks lead the season series, 2-1.
The Knicks entered Wednesday winners of six straight and trailing the Atlanta Hawks by 4½ games for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.