Rough night for Bulls, lose to Magic 107-79
ORLANDO, Fla. - Two days after playing one of the most memorable games of the NBA season, the Bulls turned in one of their biggest clunkers.
They had nothing left after losing a heartbreaker in double-overtime at Miami. The Bulls shot just 31.4 percent and were pounded by the Orlando Magic 107-79 on Wednesday night.
"There are nights like that," Bulls guard Ben Gordon said. "It is kind of bizarre and you can't get anything going."
Gordon couldn't miss in Miami, scoring 43 points, but he went 1-for-10 from the field in this game. Derrick Rose wasn't much better, hitting 2 of 12 shots as the starting guards combined for just 11 points.
The last time these teams met, the Bulls rolled to a 120-102 victory Feb. 24 at the United Center, but that probably just made the Magic even more wary of this game.
"Everything we were doing was real difficult," coach Vinny Del Negro said. "We didn't bring the energy. We didn't make any shots. We shot so poorly."
The Bulls (29-36) played a terrible first quarter, falling behind 26-13. Center Joakim Noah picked up 2 fouls in the first 58 seconds trying to guard all-star Dwight Howard, while the Bulls hit just 4 of 19 shots in the opening 12 minutes.
The visitors got as close as 28-25 in the second quarter but missed 7 of their next 8 shots as Orlando's lead grew to 14.
When Gordon opened the third quarter by hitting a jumper, the Bulls still were within 48-38. They were dominated from there, though, as the Magic finished the quarter by hitting 3 straight 3-point baskets to pull ahead 85-53.
With Luol Deng (right-tibia contusion) and Tim Thomas (left-knee strain) still sidelined, the Bulls brought in some help by signing Linton Johnson to a 10-day contract.
The 6-foot-8 forward, nephew of former Bulls great Mickey Johnson, appeared in 41 games for the Bulls during the 2003-04 season and has since logged time for six different NBA teams.
Johnson started this season with Charlotte but was released in mid-November and has spent much of his recent free time working out at the Berto Center while the Bulls were away.
Johnson got a chance to play most of the fourth quarter of Wednesday's game but didn't score. Guard Anthony Roberson knocked down a couple of late 3-pointers to make the final margin a bit closer.
Howard played just 22 minutes for Orlando but was hardly missed. Backup Tony Battie led the Magic with 18 points, while center Marcin Gortat finished with 13 points and 15 rebounds. Orlando (47-17) clinched a playoff spot with the victory.
The Bulls have one more stop on this three-game road trip, Friday in Philadelphia. The seventh-place 76ers beat Toronto on Wednesday to move 31/2 games in front of the Bulls.
The Bulls were tied for eighth with Milwaukee and New Jersey, pending the Nets' late game at Golden State.