Bulls stage huge comeback but still fall
The Bulls have done a nice job of making their own luck and finding ways to win this season.
They seemed to have things going their way again Thursday after erasing an 18-point deficit against Orlando.
Then Kyle Korver hit a sudden shooting slump, Derrick Rose couldn't get a big shot to fall and a couple offensive rebounds by the Magic clinched a 99-94 victory at the United Center, snapping the Bulls' eight-game winning streak.
Actually, the Bulls have fought through bad luck before, with a glut of injuries and some tough schedule assignments. After shooting 1-for-9 from the field, forward Luol Deng finally admitted his injured left wrist has been a problem.
Deng has a torn ligament in his left wrist and will not have surgery during the season. But after a few weeks of feeling good, the level of pain has increased.
“It's getting better,” Deng said. “It's definitely better than when I first did it and when I first came back. There was a period of time where it felt great. The last I don't know how many games, the pain is kind of high again. I've just got to kind of control it and monitor it.”
Deng figures it will get better with rest, but he didn't say that he needs to miss games. After playing four games in five nights this week, the Bulls have just one set of back-to-backs the rest of the month.
“I've proven I can play with it,” Deng added. “I know I can play with it. Some days, it's going to feel great. Some days, it's going to feel terrible.”
This figured to be a challenging night for the Bulls, coming off a tough battle in Milwaukee on Wednesday. Orlando, meanwhile, had a day off to stew over their loss Tuesday at Charlotte, the team with the NBA's worst record.
The Magic (26-15) started out blistering hot from long range, knocking down their first 5 attempts from 3-point range and 6 of the first 7. The visitors opened a 31-14 lead, then stretched it to 18 points early in the second quarter.
The Bulls (33-9) clawed within 5 by halftime when Rose buried a 40-footer at the buzzer.
When Carlos Boozer (26 points) knocked down a jumper to give the Bulls a 91-89 lead with 2:55 left, then Dwight Howard missed a shot in the post, the Bulls seemed to be on the way to a comeback win.
Then the bad luck kicked in.
Boozer's next shot was blocked by Howard and replays showed the ball hit the backboard before it was touched, which should have been goaltending.
The Bulls kept the ball, though, and on the ensuing inbounds play, two Magic players collided and fell to the floor, leaving Kyle Korver unguarded in the corner. He took a couple dribbles, set his feet and let fly, but the ball rattled around the rim and out.
In the final 4:29, Korver missed 5 good looks from 3-point range. In the first half, he drained 3 shots in a row to spark the second-quarter comeback.
“A couple of them felt good,” he said after the game. “A couple of them, maybe not quite as good. I thought at least three of them were in the bottom of the bucket. I need to come through on those.
“I was told a long time ago, ‘Shooters shoot.' If I had another open one, I would have shot that one, too. My whole life, in the fourth quarter, I've shot 3s. Sometimes you make them, sometimes you miss them. That hurts.”
From there, Orlando tied the score on a Howard alley-oop dunk. Then Rose missed a one-hander in the lane, but blocked a shot by Magic guard Jameer Nelson on the other end. The Bulls couldn't locate the rebound, though, and Orlando worked the ball to Ryan Anderson, who drained a go-ahead 3-pointer with 45.7 seconds left.
The Magic finished the night 11-for-26 from 3-point range. Howard had 29 points, 18 rebounds and shot an uncharacteristic 7-for-10 from the foul line.
“You're faced with a challenge every night, if you look hard enough,” coach Tom Thibodeau said. “Everybody's got something. We've got to be ready to play. Again, that comes back on me. We got in a hole that we shouldn't have been in. You can't do that against this team.”
mmcgraw@dailyherald.com