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Sixers take down Bulls

Jan 8, 2011 - 4:14 AM Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - The 76ers' guards overshadowed the Bulls' All-Star playmaker, as Jodie Meeks, Lou Williams and Jrue Holiday combined for 63 points to carry Philadelphia to a 105-99 victory over Chicago.

Meeks led the way with 24 points on 8-of-11 shooting, while Williams scored 20 off the bench, which included a pair of late buckets that quelled Chicago's comeback bid and sealed Philly's second straight win.

Holiday added 19 points and six assists as the Sixers avenged an embarrassing 121-76 defeat at Chicago on December 21.

Derrick Rose finished with 27 points and nine assists, while Carlos Boozer had game-highs of 31 points and 13 rebounds in defeat.

The Bulls were coming off a last-second loss at New Jersey on Wednesday and have fallen in consecutive games for just the third time all season.

"We couldn't stop anybody, but we can't panic. We just lost two in a row. We have a game tomorrow [in Boston]. That's the good thing about the NBA, you play back-to-back," Rose said.

The Sixers hit their first nine field goal attempts in the third quarter and scored 12 straight points midway through the frame to take the lead for good, as a Meeks three-pointer resulted in a 74-66 advantage with 5:14 to go.

Meeks hit from long range on back-to-back possessions a little later for an 82-70 lead, and the hosts maintained a 12-point edge, 86-74, heading to the fourth.

"When he's shooting like that he gravitates towards the ball. We definitely tried to give him the ball," Holiday said of the streaky Meeks.

The margin stayed in double digits until Boozer converted a three-point play for a 91-84 game with 6:24 remaining.

A Boozer bucket with 1:55 on the clock cut the deficit to 98-94, but Williams made a jumper from the left elbow, then drove in for an easy two following Boozer's errant five-footer for a 102-94 cushion with 1:07 showing.

C.J. Watson's three-pointer and two Rose free throws following a Holiday turnover gave the Bulls hope. However, Andres Nocioni, playing with a broken right middle finger, came down with a big offensive rebound off a Williams miss and drained two free throws with 15.9 seconds left.

Rose was then off the mark on a deep three-point try, and the gritty Nocioni was there for the rebound to ice the win.

Chicago held a slim 30-28 lead after 12 minutes and never trailed in the second. Williams, though, scored five points in the final 34.1 seconds of the half to pull the hosts within 56-54.

Game Notes

Nocioni, who spent the first four-plus seasons of his career in Chicago, ended with 11 points, as did teammate Elton Brand, who also grabbed eight rebounds...Luol Deng added 22 points for the Bulls...Chicago shot 3-of-15 from three-point range...The Sixers shot 56.3 percent overall.