Joel Embiid scores 40 points, 76ers hold off DeRozan, Bulls

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Joel Embiid set the tone, dominating right from the start and never letting up. It was just what Philadelphia needed.

Embiid had 40 points and 10 rebounds and the 76ers overcame DeMar DeRozan's season-high, 45-point game for Chicago to beat the Bulls 119-108 on Sunday.

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The 76ers won the matchup between two of the Eastern Conference’s top teams after letting a 17-point lead early in the fourth quarter shrink to four.

They hung on down the stretch to beat the Bulls for the 10th straight time. They also knocked Chicago a half-game behind first-place Miami and pulled within 1 1/2 games of the idle Heat. With the 76ers' victory, Miami clinched the best record in the East through Sunday, sending Erik Spoelstra and his Heat staff to the All-Star Game in Cleveland to coach Team Durant.

Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid, right, blocks a shot by Chicago Bulls forward Malcolm Hill during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Chicago, Sunday, Feb. 6, 2022. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

"We've beaten a few of those top teams," Embiid said. "Also, we dropped games that we shouldn't have, so it goes both ways. We're right there. And I've been saying it — for us to have a chance, we have to be perfect. I have to do what I've been doing, be that dominant and maybe even more."

Embiid sure was dominant in this one, finishing with 40 or more points for the seventh time this season. The NBA's leading scorer, he hit 14 of 23 shots.

Tobias Harris added 23 points, and Tyrese Maxey had 16, helping the Sixers shake off losses against Washington and Dallas to win for the sixth time in eight games.

"We had to win