Bulls Rally to Rout 76ers, NBA Scores

Trailing to a team with just one win this season, the Chicago Bulls used the halftime break to identify the reason -- their defense.

Jimmy Butler had 23 points and the Bulls rallied from a five-point deficit for a 115-96 rout of the lowly Philadelphia 76ers on Monday night.

Nikola Mirotic had 17 points and Tony Snell scored 15 of 16 points in the second half. Joakim Noah had 15 rebounds and eight assists as the Bulls won their third straight.

After trailing 56-51 at the intermission, the Bulls had a 64-40 advantage in the second half.

The 76ers drop to 1-25 and remain winless through 15 road games. Rookie Jahlil Okafor had 22 points in his first game as a professional in his hometown.

"It was fun," Okafor said. "Just pretty fun having all my family here."

Okafor had eight points on 4-of-4 shooting in the second quarter and had 16 points in 16 first-half minutes. Philadelphia scored 37 points in the second on 16-of-25 (64 percent) shooting.

"In the second quarter, we did not put any pressure on them," Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg said. "They went anywhere they wanted on the floor and they were comfortable. We were not helping. It was a very poor defensive quarter for us."

Chicago, though, quickly dashed hopes for an upset early in the third quarter. The Bulls dialed up the intensity and made Philadelphia look like a one-win team.

Monday, December 14 Scoreboard

Indiana 106, Toronto 90

Orlando 105, Brooklyn 82

Los Angeles 105, Detroit 103 (OT)

Miami 100, Atlanta 88

Chicago 115, Philadelphia 96

Memphis 112, Washington 95
    
Dallas 104, Phoenix 94
    
San Antonio 118, Utah 81
    
Denver 114, Houston 108
    
Portland 105, New Orleans 101

Tuesday, December 15 Schedule (All Times Central)

Cleveland at Boston, 6:30 p.m.

Denver at Minnesota, 7 p.m.

Houston at Sacramento, 9 p.m.

Milwaukee at Los Angeles, 9:30 p.m.