Simmons, Marjanovic lead 76ers win over Bulls

Jonathon Simmons scored 20 points and Boban Marjanovic added 18 to lift the host Philadelphia 76ers over the Chicago Bulls 125-109 on Wednesday. T.J. McConnell tied his career-high with 18, Zhaire Smith contributed 17 and Greg Monroe had 14 for the Sixers, who completed their regular season with a 51-31 record and the No. 3 playoff seed in the Eastern Conference. The Sixers finished 31-10 at home.

The Sixers were quite short-handed as numerous key players were held out for precautionary reasons as the playoffs are about to begin. All-Star centre Joel Embiid, All-Star guard Ben Simmons, guard JJ Redick, forward Jimmy Butler and forward Tobias Harris were all held out. Walter Lemon Jr. paced the Bulls with 20 points while Ryan Arcidiacono and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot added 14 each.

The Bulls ended the regular season at 22-60. The Bulls were also missing key players such as Kris Dunn, Zach LaVine and Otto Porter Jr. McConnell was highly effective in the first half as he hit 7 of 8 from the field on his way to 14 points and a 62-42 Sixers advantage. Lemon led the Bulls with 12 points at halftime.

Early in the third, the Sixers ripped off a 10-0 run and the Sixers pulled ahead 77-48 following McConnell's runner in the lane. The Bulls continued to struggle mightily on the offensive end and trailed 85-54 with just over five minutes left in the third quarter.

Even Monroe stepped back and hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key for a 91-56 advantage. It was the first trey of Monroe's career. Lemon hit a driving layup with 4.2 seconds left but the Bulls still trailed 97-64 at the end of the third.

Both teams had deep reserves in the game throughout the fourth as the Sixers led handily. Simmons converted a tough layup but missed the free throw for a potential three-point play with 4:42 left for a 120-91 lead.