Bulls @ 76ers

Who will WIN this matchup?

Chicago Bulls (15-27)

@ Philadelphia 76ers (26-16)

Current odds:

Chicago Bulls: (+260)

Philadelphia 76ers: (-330)

• The line for this game is 76ers by 7.5 points.

• The Philadelphia 76ers are looking for someone to step up with All-Star center Joel Embiid out of the lineup, and Tobias Harris is rising to the challenge. Harris will try to put together another strong performance when the 76ers host the Chicago Bulls on Friday. Harris scored nine of his 34 points in the final 2:20 on Wednesday to help Philadelphia hold off the Brooklyn Nets in a 117-106 victory and finished 14-of-20 from the floor while adding 10 rebounds. “There is a sincerity in him as a person and there is a genuine desire to win,” 76ers coach Brett Brown told reporters of Harris. “You can’t dismiss that. There’s a genuine desire to win. You can see it in his face, his actions in the locker room. It matters. He cares a lot.”

• The Bulls are winners of two of three but had two more players go down in a 115-106 triumph over Washington on Wednesday. Rookie forward Daniel Gafford went down with a dislocated thumb in the first quarter and is expected to miss 2-to-4 weeks while forward Chandler Hutchinson (shoulder) left in the fourth quarter and is day-to-day.

• Guiding Chicago through its injuries on Wednesday was guard Zach LaVine, who scored 30 points on 12-of-21 shooting and added seven assists and seven rebounds. LaVine scored at least 30 points in four of the last five contests to raise his season average to 24.6 points. The Bulls also got a strong performance on Wednesday from veteran forward Thaddeus Young, who scored 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting – 3-of-3 from beyond the arc – in 21 minutes off the bench and is averaging 17.5 over the last two contests after slumping to two points in 20 minutes at Detroit on Saturday.

• Philadelphia dropped to 7-14 on the road with a loss at Indiana on Monday but improved to 19-2 at home with Wednesday’s triumph and gets another chance in front of its own fans on Friday before playing seven of its next 10 on the road. Harris got some help on Wednesday from point guard Ben Simmons, who went for 20 points and 11 assists for his third consecutive double-double. Simmons is carrying a heavy load and is averaging 39.5 minutes in six games this month, including 40 or more in each of the last two contests.

• 76ers PF-C Al Horford is 15-of-41 from the floor over the last three games.

• Chicago PG Kris Dunn went 1-of-7 from the floor, including 0-of-5 from beyond the arc, on Wednesday.

• Philadelphia took five of the last six meetings.