Magics rout the Bulls 107-78 in a lopsided contest
Jameer Nelson nailed 24 points including three out of three from downtown as the Orlando Magics cruised past a Chicago Bulls 107-78 in a lopsided contest at the United Centre, Chicago in front of a 21,435 dejected home fans.
A day after the Detroit Pistons sent chills down their spines, the Orlando Magics returned to what they are best at. The Magics led by Dwight Howard put up a strong defensive effort, bullying the Bulls 46-26 in the paint as they spoiled the debut of forward
Carlos Boozer.
The Bulls, 9-7 in the season, grasped the court last time on Saturday with a 96-85 win over Sacramento, culminating a seven-game road trip during which Chicago went 4-3. On the contrary, it was the Magic with the fresh-looking legs as they ripped through
the defence of the Bulls.
First quarter
Barring the few initial minutes, Chicago were never really in the match as the Magics pulled away with a 10-2 run seven minutes into the first quarter to snatch a 17-10 lead. The Bulls tried to bounce back but always found the gritty Orlando defence in their
path as Vince Carter made a layup shot seconds before the buzzer to hand a 28-22 advantage to the Magics.
Second quarter
The Magics refused to give the Bulls any breathing space as they initiated a 14-4 run right at the start of the second quarter to a 42-26 advantage with 5:36 left to break. They continued their relentless pressure and sprinted to another 11-4 run in the
final four minutes to lead at 61-37 going into the locker room.
Third quarter
Facing a deficit of 26 points, early in the third quarter, the Bulls tried to rally back with a 13-3 run but their hopes were quashed in a hurry as Orlando shored up their defence to rein in Chicago’s surge.
Fourth Quarter
Entering the fourth quarter with an ominous score line of 85-62, both the teams played mostly with reserves on the floor. The Magics continued to dominate the Bulls, outscoring them 22-16, and Chris Duhon rounded the game off with a layup to hand a 107-78
to the Magics.
Stats
The Magics had solid figures in the game shooting at 48.7 percent and also netted 10-of-21 from beyond the arc. Jameer Nelson narrowly missed a double-double as he had nine assists to complement his 24 points. Vince Carter finished with 22 points while Brendon
Bass came off the bench to score 17 points. Dwight Howard was influential as ever scoring 13 points and 12 rebounds and Rashard Lewis also chipped with 13.
Joakim Noah led Chicago with 16 points while Derrick Rose also had 15 in a game which saw the Bulls being outrebounded 44-21 and finished with booing of a disgruntled crowd.
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