Magic hands Bulls worst loss of season
ORLANDO, Fla. -- While piling up a 22-7 record during April over the past three years, the Bulls knew how to take advantage of teams that were counting the days until vacation began.
Instead of tuning up for the playoffs, the Bulls are now getting out of the way of those headed for an extended season.
On Wednesday night, the Bulls were outscored 34-13 in the fourth quarter en route to a 115-83 loss. It was the Bulls' worst defeat of the season, edging a 30-point home loss to Toronto on Nov. 10.
Magic center Dwight Howard jumped over the Bulls' big men for 30 points and 14 rebounds, while hitting 12 of 15 shots.
Guard Kirk Hinrich led the Bulls (30-48) with 19 points while hitting 7 of 12 shots. Aaron Gray and Ben Gordon added 13 points each.
Luol Deng hit just 2 of 10 shots, a day after going 9-for-11 from the floor in a loss at Miami. Rookie center Joakim Noah picked up 5 fouls in 16 minutes trying to guard Howard.
"Dwight Howard was a beast," Noah said. "It put things in perspective a little bit."
Last June, Noah couldn't have been more excited about joining the Bulls, a team that had just been to the second round of the playoffs. After Wednesday's game, he admitted the losing has taken a personal toll.
"Losing is the worst feeling," he said. "It spreads throughout the whole team. It's just really hard right now because regardless of what we do there is no light at the end of the tunnel, especially for this season.
"I feel like we're not really playing with a lot of pride and respect for the jersey in front of us. It's just hard because you can't point at anybody individually; it's just the togetherness of the team is just bad."
Asked if this group of Bulls can regroup and be successful next season, Noah had his doubts.
"Not the way we've been performing," he said. "I think there's potential on any team in the NBA. That doesn't mean anything at the end of the day. The only thing that matters is W's and L's.
"When you win, everyone's happy. The fans are happy and when you lose they're not. … In the long term it's all about making the sacrifices, and we're definitely not making the sacrifices right now."
The Bulls led by 8 points in the first quarter and were ahead 32-28 early in the second before Orlando took control with a 23-4 run that included 11 points from Howard in less than three minutes.
In the third quarter, the Bulls were able to trim an 18-point deficit to 78-70 with 1:51 remaining. But the Magic stepped on the gas in the fourth quarter and coach Stan Van Gundy left most of his starters on the floor until the 3:22 mark, when the lead was 28 points.