Sleight of hand: Bulls steal one from Magic
The Bulls weren't above accepting charity to build a winning streak.
After a great start in Orlando on Sunday, the Bulls wilted in the fourth quarter and the game was as good as over when the Magic had the ball and a 6-point lead with less than a minute remaining.
But the Bulls took advantage of some Magic mistakes and finished the game on a 7-0 run. Pau Gasol's tip-in with 9.4 seconds left gave the Bulls an unlikely 98-97 victory at the Amway Center. They finished the six-game ice show road trip with a 3-3 record.
"Let's face it - we got away with one," Gasol told reporters after the game.
Orlando's trouble started when Jimmy Butler stole a pass by Victor Oladipo. As Butler headed upcourt, he was wrapped in a bear hug by Tobias Harris. That's a clear-path foul in the NBA, which meant Butler shot 2 free throws with 32 seconds left - making both - and the Bulls kept the ball.
Derrick Rose made it a 5-point possession by draining a 3-pointer with 19 seconds remaining and suddenly, the Bulls trailed by just 1.
With the shot clock turned off, the Bulls needed to foul to get the ball back, but the Magic coughed it up again. Guard Evan Fournier, trapped near half court by Joakim Noah, stepped back to throw a pass and his toe touched the midcourt stripe, resulting in a backcourt violation. The Bulls had the ball back with 15.5 seconds on the clock.
Rose drove the baseline, missed a running layup, but Gasol was all alone on the other side of the hoop for the go-ahead tip.
Still with a chance to win, Orlando went to center Nik Vucevic, who missed a turnaround in the lane over Gasol. Harris nudged Tony Snell out of the way and had a good look at a putback, but it rolled off at the buzzer and the Bulls completed the unlikely comeback.
"The thing is, if you want to be a good team you are going to have to find different ways to win," Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said after the game. "That is what I liked about tonight. Down 6 with 30 seconds, you have to find a way to win and that's what we did. We had some good fortune, but we made it go our way."
Gasol finished with 25 points and 15 rebounds, stretching his double-double streak to a career-high 12 games. Butler led the Bulls with 27 points and 6 steals. Noah added 18 points.
Mike Dunleavy missed his 19th game with a right ankle injury, while Kirk Hinrich was out with turf toe.
The Bulls (32-20) got off to a great start, jumping to a 32-16 lead after one quarter. Orlando chipped away and closed within 5 points at halftime and the game was tight throughout the second half.
Consecutive 3-pointers by Tony Snell and E'Twaun Moore put the Bulls ahead 89-86 with 5:28 left. Then the defense fell apart. Rookie Elfrid Payton scored on three straight driving layups, Channing Frye added a 3-pointer and Oladipo's basket made it 97-91 with 2:15 remaining.
Butler injured his right shoulder just before halftime, but he slapped some medical tape on it and played heavy minutes in the second half.
The Bulls return home to face Sacramento on Tuesday and Cleveland on Thursday leading into the NBA all-star break.
"Today we started out like we want to play, like we were going to take another step (forward), but it was almost a step back," Gasol said. "We're capable of really good things and we have shown that. But we're also capable of bad performance. That is something that we need to address and reflect on and do better."
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