Zach LaVine reflects on final play of Chicago Bulls-Philadelphia 76ers: "It was a bad read on my part... I wish I was able to re-do it"

The Chicago Bulls logged their fourth loss of the season to the Philadelphia 76ers, 109-114 on Sunday (October 30).

James Harden managed a 15-point, 11-assist double-double, Joel Embiid scored 25 points, and Tobias Harris and Tyrese Maxey added 13 and 14 points in the win, respectively.

For the Bulls, Nikola Vucevic scored a 23-point, 19-rebound double-double, shooting 5-for-7 from three-point range. This tied for Vucevic's second-most three-pointers made in a game in his career. DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine logged 24 and 20 points in the loss, respectively.

The 76ers got off to a flying start, with the Bulls scoring just nine points in the first 7.5 minutes of the first quarter. Philly shot 63.6% from the field on 22 shots in the first quarter itself, shooting 6-for-10 on threes.

The Bulls outscored Philadelphia, however, and trailed by eight at halftime. They made another run in the third quarter and outscored Philadelphia. Towards the end of the fourth quarter, with the game tied at 109, DeRozan brought the ball up the court when this happened:

DeRozan ran the clock down, waited for the double to come and threw the ball to LaVine, and with around 40 seconds left on the shot-clock, Chicago would've looked for a "two-for-one" but LaVine missed an open Vucevic and instead opted to shoot an elbow jumper, which he subsequently missed.

In a postgame interview, LaVine talked about the play, expressing his regret:

"After looking at it, I should've thrown it to Vooch. He's wide open. It was a bad read on my part...

"I'm more confident than anybody to be able to make that shot, just if you're gonna take it, make it. If not, I gotta find Vooch. I wish I was able to re-do it."

Philadelphia 76ers improve after going down 0-3

Philadelphia 76ers v Toronto Raptors

Since going down 0-3, the Philadelphia 76ers have lost just one game and grabbed three solid victories with an average win margin of around 14. However, the sample size is very small, and those numbers are skewed because of it.

The 76ers have improved their ball distribution, with Harden recording less than 100 touches in all their wins. Poor ball distribution was detrimental to Philadelphia in their losses.

Besides this, Tyrese Maxey's career-high (44 points, 9/12 3P) night against the Raptors in the Sixers' 22-point win was a welcome sight as he continues to emerge as a reliable third-option for Philly.

Joel Embiid's performances have been on par with what is expected of him, having already logged a 40-point double-double and 31 points against the Raptors.

His defensive rating of 111 is the best among starters, with the best defender for the 76es being De'Anthony Melton, who has played 147 minutes so far and managed a DRTG of 107.

Philadelphia 76ers are in prime position to contend for an NBA title, but given how competent teams in the Eastern Conference have looked so far, the road will be incredibly tough.