LOS ANGELES – A titanic duel between the top two teams in the National Basketball Association (NBA) Eastern Conference saw the Chicago Bulls fight back from a 24-point deficit to defeat the Philadelphia 76ers 113-111 in the Windy City on Nov 4.

“Tonight was one of the best wins that I’ve ever been a part of,” Bulls guard Josh Giddey was quoted by ESPN as saying. “Just in terms of how bad we were down that early in the third. And to gut that one out and dig ourselves out of the hole that we did was unbelievable.”

Game-winner Nikola Vucevic added: “We have belief. And I think we also were aware that we played really, really bad basketball in the first quarter, especially defensively.”

The Sixers looked to be heading for a blowout win after outscoring the Bulls 45-27 in the first quarter, with Tyrese Maxey nailing four three-pointers in a blistering start for Philadelphia.

The 76ers continued that dominance in the second quarter, building a 75-56 advantage at half-time after leading by 24 points earlier in the period.

But Chicago flipped the script after the break, outscoring the Sixers 28-20 in the third period and then edging closer in the fourth.

Vucevic’s three-pointer with just over three seconds remaining sealed victory for Chicago, who improved to 6-1 to lead the standings.

Australia Giddey led the Chicago scoring with a 29-point triple double that included 15 rebounds and 12 assists.

Chicago coach Billy Donovan praised his team’s second-half comeback – but warned they would need to improve their physicality to have a chance of challenging for honors this season.

“We were really disappointed in the first half, physically,” Donovan said. “We were very fortunate to win. I’m happy they fought, never gave up, battled and competed and were able to win.

“But we’re not going to be a very good team if we just try and rely on running the...