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Bulls tack on another loss to Sixers' skid

Mar 20, 2014 - 4:07 AM Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - Eight days and four games is what the Philadelphia 76ers have left.

That's how much time they have to get a win or face tying the type of record even a team in the midst of a rebuild doesn't want to touch with a 10-foot hoop.

The Sixers' team-record losing streak reached 22 games Wednesday night after a late run against another top Eastern Conference team fell short.

D.J. Augustin scored 20 off the bench, hitting a couple of key 3-pointers down the stretch, and the Chicago Bulls held on for a 102-94 win in the first of two meetings between the teams in four days.

Taj Gibson added 19 points and 13 rebounds for Chicago -- also off the bench -- and Jimmy Butler scored 16.

The Bulls, who have won three of four, became the second playoff-bound team in three days to avoid a loss to the Sixers.

The East-leading Indiana Pacers needed a late run to beat Philadelphia 99-90 on Monday.

"They play tough. They don't go away," said Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau. "They keep coming."

The Sixers are within four losses of Cleveland's NBA-record streak of 26 in a row set during the 2010-11 season.

Winless since beating Boston on Jan. 29, they got a spark off the bench from Byron Mullens, whose 10 points in the fourth quarter included consecutive 3- pointers to get them within one.

They tied the game for the first time since 28-28 early in the second quarter on a Thaddeus Young 3-pointer moments later but missed their next three shots.

Butler and Augustin then hit consecutive 3-pointers for a six-point Bulls lead with under six minutes left and Augustin kept it at six with another three later on.

The Sixers got within four twice, the last time on a two-handed Mullens dunk in transition. Wroten had a layup dangle on the rim -- inches from making it a two-point game -- but Joakim Noah swatted it away. Butler made a pair of foul shots at the other end with 24 seconds left, and that was that.

The teams will play again in Chicago on Saturday.

"The energy was there," said Mullens. "Of course it always helps to make shots, but it was a tough loss for us. It was a really good game. We just have to play like that every night."

The Sixers, led by Young's 24 points, missed 10 of their 19 foul shots and were outrebounded 52-38. Wroten didn't miss a 3-pointer until the fourth and scored 17, ending 4-for-6 from deep.

Michael Carter-Williams had 16 points, nine rebounds and seven assists for the Sixers, but the rookie point guard also showed his youth on a turnover in the last seconds when he left his feet in the paint with nowhere to go and landed without a pass.

How long has it been since the Sixers last won? Their victory over the Celtics came after Even Turner, who now plays for Indiana, hit an off-balance jumper at the buzzer. It was four days before the Super Bowl and nine days before the opening ceremony of the Sochi Olympics.

Chicago led by as many as 11 points in the first half and were up 52-45 at the break. The Bulls took a 75-69 lead into the fourth quarter.

Game Notes

Mullens scored 12 ... The Sixers have also lost a team-record 17 in a row at home. They host the Knicks on Friday ... The Bulls play at Indiana, also on Friday.