CHICAGO -- Chicago Bulls guard Justin Holiday is a firm believer that positive momentum can carry into an offseason.

"I don't see why not," Holiday said. "At the same time, I'm going to make sure that I work. You can't just have a good game and show up next season and hope everything works out."

Holiday scored a career-high 29 points on 9-for-15 shooting, and the Bulls rallied for a 115-105 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night.

Nikola Mirotic led all scorers with 32 points as the Bulls erased a 24-point, first-half deficit. Jimmy Butler posted his second career triple-double with 10 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists. Doug McDermott scored 16 points off the bench.

Chicago (42-40) secured its sixth consecutive winning season but missed the postseason for the first time since 2007-08. The season-ending victory did little to soften a hard finish for the Bulls, who battled injuries and inconsistency under first-year coach Fred Hoiberg.

"Obviously, it's disappointing," Hoiberg said. "We've all got to look in the mirror, and it starts with me. I'm the leader of this team. I've got to do better with our group, and I will."

Robert Covington scored a team-high 27 points on 7-for-17 shooting for the 76ers. Hollis Thompson contributed 21 points off the bench. Jerami Grant scored 20 points and pulled down six rebounds.

Philadelphia (10-72) dropped 16 of its final 17 games and finished with the second-most losses in NBA history. The only team to lose more games was the 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers, which finished 9-73.

Philadelphia coach Brett Brown said the season-ending loss mirrored his team's struggles for the past six-plus months.

"I feel like what you saw tonight has happened a lot in that there are droughts," Brown said. "Sometimes, you start out really well and you go into a drought. Other times, we have been in droughts and clawed back. I feel like what we've seen mostly as a team has been erratic play, not steady play. We're either really good or really poor."

Chicago entered the fourth quarter with an 86-73 lead after outscoring Philadelphia 35-13 in the third quarter. The Bulls scored the first seven points of the third quarter after scoring the final 12 points of the second quarter.

Holiday and forward Tony Snell hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give Chicago a 64-61 lead with 8:57 remaining in the third quarter. Holiday hit two more 3-pointers and a jump shot in the next 4:30 to increase the lead to 10.

"It was most definitely energy," Holiday said. "The main thing was we were getting stops. Yeah, the threes and all that stuff works, and it matters, but you have to get stops to be able to win the game. Defensively, we did what we were supposed to do."

Philadelphia maintained a 60-51 edge at halftime after leading by as many as 24 points in the second quarter. Covington drained a 3-pointer from the left corner to put the 76ers ahead 42-18 with 9:27 to go in the first half.

Chicago closed the second quarter on a 12-0 run. Holiday stripped the ball from 76ers guard T.J. McConnell and sprinted for a fast-break dunk to end the half.

Brown said better days awaited the 76ers, who head into the offseason with four draft picks and financial flexibility.

"It's time for the season to end, and it in many ways it is time for us to move on in regards to the next phase," Brown said. "I think the city and the coaching staff and some of those players in there will look back on this experience and this time as most definitely one that was learning, just not one that was reflective of winning."

After the game, Bulls executive vice president John Paxson reiterated that Hoiberg and general manager Gar Forman would return next season.

NOTES: 76ers F Elton Brand was available off the bench for possibly the final game of his 17-year NBA career, but he did not play. Brand, 37, hinted at retirement in recent weeks but has not announced a final decision. ... Chicago had only eight players in uniform for Wednesday's season finale, which carried no playoff implications. Bulls players who did not dress for the game included G Derrick Rose (rest), F/C Pau Gasol (rest), G/F Mike Dunleavy (rest), F Taj Gibson (rib contusion), G E'Twaun Moore (hamstring) and F Cameron Bairstow (back). ... Philadelphia kept five players out of the lineup: F Carl Landry (low back soreness), F Richaun Holmes (right Achilles strain), G Isaiah Canaan (left shoulder), C Jahlil Okafor (right knee) and C Joel Embiid (right foot). ... Bulls C Cristiano Felicio made his fourth start of the season in place of Gasol. Felicio appeared in 31 games during his rookie campaign.