Bulls can't put best foot forward in loss to 76ers

The Bulls lead the NBA in blocked shots. In Wednesday night's gut-wrenching 106-103 overtime loss at Philadelphia, they had none. Zero.

That's a strong sign that starting big men Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson are having a tough time playing through foot injuries.

Noah finished with 6 points and 8 rebounds in 27 minutes. Gibson had 1 rebound and no points in 16 minutes. The 76ers outrebounded the Bulls and took advantage of the missing interior defenders to shoot 52.3 percent from the field.

"We didn't have the energy we've had in past road games," Bulls guard John Salmons said. "We have to make sure we stay focused from beginning to end."

After making NBA history with 5 straight road wins over teams with winning records, the Bulls (23-24) have dropped two in a row to losing teams to fall below .500. They'll take Thursday off before finishing a busy week with a visit to Atlanta, then a home date with Miami this weekend.

Wednesday's game was a difficult assignment because the Bulls were playing the second of back-to-back games, while Philadelphia hadn't played since Sunday. The Bulls lost at home to the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday.

Guard Derrick Rose stepped up with 30 points and 9 assists. Luol Deng and Salmons, a Philadelphia native, each scored 17 points.

"We should have put this game away when we had a chance," Rose said.

Backup center Brad Miller (8 points, 1 rebound in 33 minutes) played down the stretch, while Tyrus Thomas (12 points, 6 boards) was limited to 15 minutes.

The Bulls had trouble stopping Elton Brand (26 points) and Andre Iguodala (25 points). Allen Iverson didn't play because of an illness in his family, though it's tough to judge whether that helped or hurt the Bulls' cause.

The Sixers own the league's second-worst home record, ahead of New Jersey.

The Bulls trailed for most of the fourth quarter, but finally took a 92-91 lead on Rose's driving lay-in with 1:59 left. Iguodala followed with a tough turnaround jumper, and after the teams traded misses Deng followed in his own miss to put the Bulls back ahead 94-93 with 54.9 seconds left.

The Bulls got a defensive stop, forcing an Iguodala miss, but with a chance to build the lead, Rose missed a driving shot with 26.4 seconds left. Iguodala was fouled on the other end and hit the first of 2 free throws with 6.7 seconds on the clock to tie the score.

Brand rebounded the missed free throw and watched a 15-foot fallaway rim out with just more than a second remaining.

In overtime, the Sixers scored their first 4 points after offensive rebounds. Trailing 98-96, the Bulls missed 5 shots before Rose finally tied the score at the foul line with 1:41 left.

Iguodala answered with a 3-pointer and, after Rose had his shot blocked, Willie Green's baseline jumper put the home team up 103-98 with 53.8 seconds left.

"Give Philadelphia credit," Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro said. "They made some shots at the end."

<p class="factboxheadblack">Mike McGraw's game tracker</p>

<p class="News">Sixers 106, Bulls 103 (OT)</p>

<p class="News"><b>Win within reach: </b>The Bulls trailed for most of the fourth quarter, but should have won this game in regulation time. With a chance to build on a 1-point lead, Derrick Rose missed a driving shot with 26.4 seconds left and Philadelphia's Andre Iguodala (25 points) tied it with a free throw. The Bulls ran out of gas in overtime and were pretty much done after falling behind by 5 with just under a minute left.</p>

<p class="News"><b>Big men laboring:</b> Playing the second of back-to-back games against a rested Sixers team, Rose delivered 30 points and 9 assists, while Philly native John Salmons knocked down some big 3-point shots. Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson are struggling with foot injuries, though, and it's tough to figure why Tyrus Thomas (12 points, 6 rebounds) played just 15 minutes.</p>

<p class="News"><b>Reverse role playing:</b> The Bulls have won their last five games against teams with winning records and lost their last four to opponents with losing records. Maybe a trip to Atlanta on Friday is just what they need.</p>