The Bulls and Magic played basketball Monday at the United Center, but it was ugly.
The game struggled to meet the standards of NBA-level skill and competition. Between the turnovers and terrible three-point shooting from both teams, it was a mess.
The Magic managed to be slightly less bad, pulling off an uninspiring 100-91 victory. It was the Bulls’ fourth loss in a row.
”Some of it has been the way we shot the ball coupled with the fact that we turned the ball over too much,” Bulls coach Billy Donovan said.
In the first half, the Bulls allowed nine points off nine turnovers and shot 0-for-11 from three-point range. The Magic weren’t much better, turning over the ball 10 times and shooting 2-for-12 from behind the arc.
Things only got worse for the Bulls in the third quarter, when the Magic started hitting and they remained ineffective from three-point range. The Bulls’ first three-pointer of the night came from Coby White with less than two minutes left in the third.
White’s shot, which cut the Magic’s lead to seven, sent a shock wave through the arena. Rookie Dalen Terry, whom Donovan called on in the third, followed with a layup on the next possession, pulling the Bulls to five.
As close to a comeback as they came, however, the Bulls never took back the lead after giving it up midway through the first quarter. White made another three-pointer in the fourth quarter and Nikola Vucevic made one of his own, but that was it. The Bulls went 3-for-21 from behind the arc on the night.
Zach LaVine scored 26 points, and Vucevic had a double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds. The Magic got 22 points from rookie Paolo Banchero and 18 apiece from Franz Wagner and Markelle Fultz.
DeMar DeRozan finished with 19 points, six assists and three rebounds. Donovan said he took himself out of the game toward the end of the fourth quarter. DeRozan missed three games in January dealing with hip soreness and last week’s game against the Grizzlies. He said Monday he’s been playing through discomfort for over a month.
“It’s been something I’ve been playing on,” DeRozan said. “I thought it was a knee contusion whatever it was. It’s a weird feeling. I’ve never felt anything like this. While I’m sitting doing nothing I don’t feel anything. It’s just when I do anything to work that muscle in my leg it’s a lot of discomfort.”
As far as his expectations for playing the rest of this week and in the All-Star game DeRozan said he’s going to get some rest and will make a decision following his evaluation with the team’s medical staff tomorrow.
The Bulls have struggled from three-point range all season, but they have been truly awful in February. After six games this month, they are 29th in the league at 29.1% from behind the arc. During their losing streak, the Bulls have shot 20-for-103 from three-point range.
At 26-31, the Bulls are fighting for a spot in the Eastern Conference play-in tournament with 25 games left. But they look less like a team that’s fighting and more like one that’s flailing. With two games left before the All-Star break — Wednesday at the Pacers and Thursday against the Bucks — the Bulls can’t afford anymore rec-league performances. But that has been true for a while.
Boos from fans echoed as the final seconds ticked down.
”Sell the White Sox, too,” one fan yelled as the Bulls walked off the court, a reference to Jerry Reinsdorf serving as the chairman of both franchises.
NOTE:Forward Derrick Jones Jr. left in the second quarter and didn’t return. Coach Billy Donovan didn’t have a clear update but said he thinks it’s a hamstring injury.
