Notebook: Sixers 98, Bulls 82

By Andy Jasner, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: The Philadelphia 76ers improved to 12-2 at home and 16-6 overall with a stirring 98-82 victory over the Chicago Bulls Wednesday at the Wells Fargo Center. Andre Iguodala and Thaddeus Young scored 19 points each while Jrue Holiday had 17 points. Rookie Lavoy Allen had a career-high 15 points and five Philadelphia players scored in double figures.

C.J. Watson led the Bulls with 20 points off the bench while Derrick Rose scored 18. They were the only two players in double figures. The Bulls (18-6) are 1-2 on this season-long nine-game road trip, which continues Thursday at New York.

QUOTABLE: "We, as a team, have to stay focused. We can't get ahead of ourselves."
-- Iguodala.

THE STAT: The Sixers' bench scored 50 of their 98 points. That's more than half, if you're counting.

TURNING POINT: The Sixers ripped off a 13-3 run to start the third quarter, extending a 49-44 lead to 15 at 62-47. Iguodala and Holiday ignited the run and the Sixers went on to lead by 20 at the end of the third.

HOT: Allen knocked down seven of his 10 shots for the Sixers. The second-round draft choice from Temple is improving every game.

NOT: Joakim Noah entered the game with five straight double-doubles. While Noah swept seven rebounds, he was 0-for-3 from the field and finished with just two points.

QUOTABLE II: "It feels good with the support we're getting on the court. For me, I think I'm getting a lot of trust from my teammates."
-- Allen.

FANTASY SPOTLIGHT: Once again, Iguodala was active in every aspect with 19 points, nine rebounds, four assists and two steals. He's playing at a very high level right now.

INSIDE THE ARENA: There was a large crowd of 18,325 for Friday's highly-anticipated matchup with the Bulls. Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson took in the action from a front-row seat. The crowd exploded as the lead swelled to 20 in the second half.

QUOTABLE III: "Our defense wasn't good. I thought our reaction to the ball was very poor."
-- Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau, on being outscored 26-11 in the third quarter.

GOOD MOVE: The Sixers attacked the basket and dominated points in the paint. It's important to play an aggressive style and make the Bulls work extremely hard on defense. The Sixers did just that and it paid off.

BAD MOVE: Kyle Korver started strong by knocking down his first three shots. But he only had five shots the rest of the game.

ROOKIE WATCH: Forward Jimmy Butler had five points and four rebounds in 19 minutes for the Bulls. For the Sixers, forward Nikola Vucevic was active but didn't play for the second straight game. Allen was a spark throughout the game and wound up with 15 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals.

NOTABLE: The Sixers have held their opponent under 90 points in each of the past four games. ... The Sixers outrebounded Chicago 43-37 and improved to 10-1 this season when outrebounding the opponent. ... Sixers coach Doug Collins received a technical foul with 3:23 left in the second quarter. He was irate after an offensive foul was whistled on Iguodala. ... Philadelphia played without center Spencer Hawes (left Achilles strain) for the ninth straight game. ... The Bulls played without guard Richard Hamilton (sore right thigh) and forward Luol Deng (left wrist). ... The Sixers scored 29 points off 17 Chicago turnovers. ... The Bulls have dropped three of the last five after starting the season 16-3.

NEXT: For the Bulls, Thursday @ New York, Saturday @ Milwaukee, Monday @ New Jersey. For the Sixers, Friday vs. Miami, Saturday @ Atlanta, Monday vs. L.A. Lakers.

• With the win tonight, the Sixers have won four straight after losing three of the previous five. Philly is 16-6 this season after not picking up its 16th win until Game #39 in 2010-11 (16-23 mark). It is the Sixers best start since going 17-5 in 2000-01. Philly has now won three straight over Chicago for the first time since a five-game span from 11/7/03-12/10/04. The Bulls have lost three of their past five games after starting the season 16-3.
• Philly won by 16 points tonight which is tied for Chicago’s biggest loss of the season. The Sixers have won by 10+ points 14 times this season and are outscoring opponents by a league-best 11.6 ppg.
• The Sixers have now held their opponent below 90 points in each of the past four games (74.3 ppg) and 15 times overall this season (14-1 mark). Philly held the opposition below 90 points 17 times all of last season (15-2 mark). The Sixers are giving up a league-low 85.9 ppg.
• Philly had as many steals (10) as turnovers tonight. Over the past 14 games, the Sixers have 128 steals while committing just 144 turnovers (10.3 tpg). Philly leads the NBA in steal-to-turnover ratio (0.81). The Sixers also recorded 26 assists, marking the second time over the past three games they’ve recorded 25+. Philly is 6-0 when having 25+ assists this season.
• Andre Iguodala had a team-high tying 19 points with a game-high tying 9 rebounds. Over the past three games, he is averaging 14.3 points and 10.0 boards while shooting 54.8% from the floor. He also hit 2 3-pointers, marking his first game with multiple 3FGM since 1/16 vs. MIL.
• Second round pick Lavoy Allen had a career-high 15 points (7-10 FGs) with 6 rebounds. Over the past six games, he is averaging 7.7 points and 5.0 rebounds in 21.7 minutes per game. He also has 8 assists with just 2 turnovers over the past three games.
• Derrick Rose had 18 points tonight, tying for his fifth-lowest scoring output of the season. He scored 34+ points in each of the previous three games and averaged 26.7 ppg in three games against the Sixers last season.
• Elton Brand had 7 points and 8 rebounds tonight. He has scored below 10 points in three of the past four games but the Sixers are 8-0 when he scores in single-digits this season after going 3-9 in 2010-11 and 3-18 in 2009-10.