Magic 99, Bulls 94 : Magic Ending Bulls Streak

After losing to the Charlotte Bobcats on Tuesday, the Orlando Magic went into Chicago and beat the Bulls 99-94, ending the home team's eight-game winning streak. The Magic took an 18-point lead in the second quarter but the Bulls fought back and enjoyed two-point lead for just 55 seconds in the fourth quarter. Dwight Howard had a double-double by halftime and finished with 29 points and 18 rebounds for Orlando. Carlos Boozer finished with 26 points to lead the Bulls.

After trailing by 18 points early in the second quarter, the Bulls closed the half with an 18-5 run, getting 3-pointers from Kyle Korver, Luol Deng and Derrick Rose's buzzer-beater, to close within five points at halftime. The second half was tight until Ryan Anderson hit a 3-pointer to break a 91-91 tie with 1:27 remaining. The Bulls missed six straight shots before Boozer scored with just 4.4 seconds left.

"We took the loss (to Charlotte) hard. This was a big win. We wanted to show how good we are."
-- Orlando forward Anderson.

Against the best rebounding team in the league, Orlando won the board battle 49-40, including 17 offensive rebounds. The Magic had three offensive boards in the last 90 seconds of the game.
The Magic shot 75 percent in the first quarter and made 6-of-8 3-pointers to build a 37-22 lead at the break.

After trailing by 18 points early in the second quarter, the Bulls closed the half with an 18-5 run, getting late 3-pointers from Korver, Deng and Rose's buzzer-beater, to close within five points at halftime.

C.J. Watson (ankle) and Rip Hamilton (shoulder) did not play for the Bulls, although Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau said Watson is getting close to returning. Orlando's Jason Richardson suffered a left knee injury with two minutes left in the game.

Bulls backup forward Taj Gibson made six of seven shots for 14 points.

Bulls forward Deng, whose shooting has been suspect since suffering a wrist injury in February, was 1-for-9 from the field.

"Kyle (Korver) had some wide open shots, his shot. I can live with that all day. He's a great shooter and had it on line. It doesn't go in. I can live with that.''
-- Thibodeau.

NOTABLE: Thursday's game was the start of a six-game homestand for the Bulls.