Sixers battle Bulls but lose in OT

The 76ers came up short in their quest to treat fans to an all-around enjoyable night.

The team hired singer-songwriter Montell Jordan to sing the national anthem and perform at halftime Thursday. Actor George Lopez playfully proclaimed, "In three years, the Sixers will win the championship in the NBA" when he was introduced to the crowd. And fans kept trying to get pictures of Philly hip-hop artist Meek Mill, who was seated courtside.

But the Sixers were unable to treat their fans to victory in a 115-111 overtime loss to the Chicago Bulls at the Wells Fargo Center.

This one had to hurt.

They blew a 24-point second-quarter lead - their biggest lead of the season - and surrendered 53 points to Bulls shooting guard Jimmy Butler. Butler's points were a career high and the most points scored by a visitor at the arena.

Despite that, Sixers coach Brett Brown said he walked away proud of his team.

"I think that that's NBA basketball," Brown said of blowing the lead. "All of a sudden good players start buckling in a little bit."

The loss dropped the Sixers to 4-37 heading into their home game Saturday against the Portland Trail Blazers.

The Bulls improved to 23-15 even though they played without two starters in point guard Derrick Rose (left knee tendinitis) and center Pau Gasol (rest). They snapped a three-game losing streak.

The Sixers jumped out to a 108-104 lead in the extra session after putbacks by JaKarr Sampson and Nerlens Noel. But E'Twaun Moore took over moments later.

The Bulls reserve guard went on a personal 7-0 run with a three-pointer followed by a floater and a step-back jumper to make it a 111-108 game with 2 minutes, 37 seconds left in overtime.

"To me that was the game," Brown said of Moore's scoring seven of his 14 points during that stretch. "Butler was doing his thing. But I really felt like we could persevere with him, and we made the adjustment.

"[Moore] came out and punished that, too."

Butler's layup with 1:20 left gave the Bulls a five-point cushion. After his three-pointer closed the cap to 113-111, Sixers point guard Ish Smith had a chance to knot the score but missed a layup with 25.9 seconds left.

"I don't know how I missed that layup," Smith said. "I'm probably going to dream about making it. Then wake up and realize it didn't happen. But that's a tough layup I've got to finish.

Doug McDermott hit a pair of foul shots with 10.4 seconds left to give the Bulls a 115-111 edge.

Butler also finished with 10 rebounds and six assists in 49 minutes, 3 seconds.

Robert Covington led the Sixers with 25 points while making 6 of 10 three-pointers before fouling out with 2:24 left in regulation. Smith added 24 points and eight assists. Rookie center Jahlil Okafor had 12 points. However, he was held scoreless after intermission.

The Sixers had control of the game at halftime - or so it seemed.

They dominated the first half even held a 24-point advantage with 6:22 before intermission. Their 62 first-half points were a season high for points in the first two quarters. However, all the energy they displayed in the first half was missing in the third quarter. They made just 5 of 20 shots in the quarter. And the Bulls stepped their play in the second half.

That combination led to Chicago taking the lead (98-97) on Butler's basket with 2:24 remaining in the game. Nik Stauskas suffered a game-ending left shoulder bruise in the overtime.

The game had a crazy start.

Noel was introduced as the starting power forward during pregame introductions. However, Carl Landry started in Noel's place while he sprinted back the locker room with mild nausea.

The 6-foot-11, 223-pounder returned the court and entered the game with 8:11 remaining in the quarter. He finished with eight points, six rebounds and one block.

Jerami Grant missed the game with a left calf strain. The forward is expected to return Saturday.

kpompey@phillynews.com

@PompeyOnSixers

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