Brown, Maxey and James combine for 78 points as 76ers’ hand Bulls a 7th straight defeat

Jaylen Brown scored 29 points, Tyrese Maxey added 27 and LeBron James had his highest-scoring effort so far in a Philadelphia uniform as the 76ers held off the struggling Chicago Bulls 127-121 on Sunday afternoon at the United Center.

James had a season-high 22 for the 76ers, who got 18 points and 10 rebounds from Joel Embiid and 13 points from VJ Edgecombe.

At 9-2, the 76ers — the Eastern Conference leaders — are off to their best 11-game start since going 10-1 to open the 2000-01 season.

Josh Giddey had 19 points, 15 assists and seven rebounds for Chicago. Matas Buzelis added 19 points for the Bulls, who got 18 from Caleb Wilson, 17 from Jalen Smith, 12 from Isaac Okoro and 10 from Noa Essengue.

The Bulls dropped their seventh straight and fell to 1-8, tying the third-worst nine-game start in team history. Chicago started 0-9 was in 1967-68 — the franchise’s second season — and 2004-05.

James' 3-pointer 3:15 into the game gave him 1,897 career points against Chicago, making him the all-time leading scorer against the Bulls. Abdul-Jabbar — who was the NBA's all-time leading scorer, until James passed him for the No. 1 spot in 2023 — scored 1,895 points against the Bulls in 76 games; James was playing a regular-season game against Chicago for the 70th time.

Brown made 11 of 22 shots from the floor in his final game before facing his former team — the Boston Celtics — in a real game for the first time. The teams met in the preseason, making the first time Brown went up against the team that traded him to Philadelphia this offseason, but Tuesday's game in Philadelphia will be the first time Brown faces the Celtics in a game that counts in the standings.

Up next

76ers: Host Boston on Tuesday.

Bulls: Host San Antonio on Wednesday.