PHILADELPHIA _ Furkan Korkmaz is filling in nicely.
The reserve swingman just might be the sharpshooting reserve the 76ers desperately need. Korkmaz scorched the nets for the second game in a row, scoring 31 points in Sunday's 118-111 victory over the Chicago Bulls at Wells Fargo Center.
He made 6 of 11 three-point attempts in addition to finishing with five rebounds, two assists, and three steals. The performance comes after Korkmaz had career highs of 34 points and seven three-pointers in Friday's victory over the Memphis Grizzlies.
He joins JJ Redick as the only Sixers reserves to score 30-plus points in consecutive games since bench stats were first kept during the 1970-71 season.
On this night, however, the Turk did most of his damage in the first quarter. He scored 17 points, making 4 of 5 three-pointers. It tied him with Ben Gordon (Dec. 6, 2006) and Luol Deng (Nov. 21, 2004) for the second-most first-quarter points by a reserve since the 1996-97 season. Will Barton is on top of that list with 18 points (Dec. 22, 2015).
With Korkmaz leading the way, the Sixers improved to 33-21 and a league-best 24-2 at home. The Bulls (19-35) lost their fifth straight.
Ben Simmons completed a triple double with 19 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists. He also had seven turnovers.
Joel Embiid finished with 28 points, 12 rebounds, five assists and four blocks. He made 11 of 14 foul shots. Tobias Harris (14 points) and newcomer Glenn Robinson III were the Sixers' other double-digit scorers.
Meanwhile, Al Horford missed all six of his shots and was scoreless. This is the first time the five-time All-Star failed to score a point in 835 career games.
The game marked the beginning of Robinson's second stint in Philadelphia. The Sixers claimed him off waivers in March 2015, two days after he was waived by the Minnesota Timberwolves. He ended up signing with the Indiana Pacers the following summer. He and Alec Burks were acquired by the Sixers on Wednesday from Golden State for three second-round picks. Burks didn't get off the bench on Sunday night.
in 2015, Robinson didn't make his Sixers debut until his eighth game with the team. This time, he came in with 2 minutes, 1 second left in the first quarter.
The 26-year-old finished with 10 points in 12 minutes, 11 seconds.
Zach LaVine paced Chicago with a game-high 32 points. Former Neshaminy and Villanova standout Ryan Arcidiacono had five points.
