The Chicago Bulls dug themselves out of a hole — and survived a strange scoreless streak in the fourth quarter — to tip above the .500 mark with a 102-99 win over the Orlando Magic on Wednesday.
This marked the first home win of the season for the Bulls. Coby White led the scoring with 21 points on 8-for-16 shooting while Zach LaVine (11 points, 10 rebounds), Nikola Vučević (18 points, 14 rebounds) and Josh Giddey (20 points, 11 rebounds) tallied double-doubles.
After Giddey sank a free throw to put the Bulls ahead by three points with 0.1 second remaining, Paolo Banchero managed to sink a 3-pointer off an inbounds play — but the clock had already expired. Banchero attempted to contest when the referee waved the shot off, but LaVine laughingly pushed him away.
“You can’t get a shot off with 0.1 so we pretty much just let them take a layup,” LaVine said after the win. “He was talking about reviewing it. I said go home, I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Here are seven takeaways from the win.
1. Another 20-point comeback fueled by a 3-point flurry.
Sluggish 3-point shooting spread to the entire roster in the first half as the Bulls went 4-for-14 from behind the arc as they sank into a 20-point deficit. But after clawing back within 10 points in the second quarter through fast-break scoring, the Bulls kickstarted their shooting behind the arc in the third quarter.
Photos: Chicago Bulls 102, Orlando Magic 99 at the United Center
The Bulls hit four consecutive 3-pointers — two from Patrick Williams, one from Coby White and another from Josh Giddey — to surge ahead to a 72-71 lead with 6:24 left in the third quarter. They finished 8-for-14 from deep in the third quarter, with Giddey contributing three 3-pointers and both Williams and White contributing a pair apiece.
Giddey finished a perfect 4-for-4 from behind the arc while White finished 4-for-10. Williams went 3-for-5 from deep.
2. A fourth-quarter scoring drought.
It’s hard to define exactly what happened in the fourth quarter of Wednesday’s win — only that, without warning or caution, the faucet turned off completely on the offensive end of the court. Both teams were strangely transfixed by this sudden spell of inaccuracy. Banchero air-balled a 3-pointer. Shots by LaVine and White clattered off the rim.
The quarter was entirely scoreless until Julian Phillips made a free throw with seven minutes and 49 seconds left. LaVine added another free throw 40 seconds later. But neither team scored a shot from the floor until the 4:50 mark, when Ayo Dosunmu completed a layup on the fast break. The Magic and the Bulls were a combined 0-for-25 before that shot went in.
Neither team fully snapped out of this shooting stupor, finishing a combined 7-for-37 in the fourth quarter. Thirteen of the 28 points scored in the quarter were free throws.
“I was just thinking that as long as we keep getting stops, we’ll be OK,” LaVine said. “I was telling Josh I was going to run into somebody and try to get us to the free throw line eventually. We figured it out.”
3. Patrick Williams came up clutch.
PATRICK WILLIAMS WITH THE CLUTCH THREE.@CHSN__ | #SeeRed pic.twitter.com/rST5lBvARc
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) October 31, 2024
After fueling the long-range flood of the third quarter, Williams delivered in the clutch for the second time this season, sinking a 3-pointer with 54 seconds left to send the Bulls ahead by four points. The shot was the only 3-pointer made in the fourth quarter.
Although his deep shooting was key in the second half, the most important contribution from Williams was his defense of Orlando star Paolo Banchero, who had posted 50 points two nights earlier in a win over the Indiana Pacers. Banchero still had 29 points on Wednesday, but Williams slowed him through relentless defense, fighting over screens and unsettling Banchero in his post-ups to create deflections and reduce his angles to the basket.
4. Ayo Dosunmu made an impact off the bench.
Ayo Dosunmu subbed into the game in order to guard this final Magic possession. Bulls won the game because of his defense on this play. pic.twitter.com/lIIUFOthtw
— Steph Noh (@StephNoh) October 31, 2024
Coach Billy Donovan rotated Dosunmu onto the court for the final real defensive possession of the game (barring that 0.1 second play). The decision paid off immediately. Dosunmu clamped down on Magic guard Jalen Suggs to prevent multiple attempts to attack the rim from the top of the perimeter, forcing him into a poor shot off a turnaround jumper that missed wide.
The possession reflected Dosunmu’s ability to make an immediate difference on the game from the bench. Although he did not make a 3-pointer, Dosunmu scored 12 points on 6-for-8 shooting in addition to four rebounds, four assists and a blocked shot. His versatility as a wing defender was critical for the Bulls to shut down the Magic’s length on the perimeter in another clutch performance as the first player off the bench.
5. Lonzo Ball and Jalen Smith were sidelined with injury.
Wednesday was the first of at least six games for the Bulls without Ball, who suffered a sprained right wrist in Monday’s win over the Memphis Grizzlies. Ball will be reevaluated after 10 days, during which his right wrist will be entirely immobilized.
Backup center Jalen Smith was also unavailable after suffering a left knee injury in warmups. Smith had previously landed on the injury report for a left ankle sprain but was then cleared for Wednesday’s game before suffering the new injury during his pregame routine.
6. Adama Sanogo earned an important backup rotation.
Way to go Sanogo👏 pic.twitter.com/LXujRDFVji
— Bulls on CHSN (@CHSN_Bulls) October 31, 2024
Without Smith in the lineup, Donovan looked to two-way center Adama Sanogo to fill in as backup center.
The matchup against the Magic was a challenge for Sanogo, who had to work against lengthy and versatile wings like Banchero while also grinding in the post against bigs like Mo Wagner. Sanogo managed several shots from the paint but struggled to keep up on the boards.
Sanogo finished with four points, a rebound and an assist in nine minutes.
7. Matas Buzelis still couldn’t get minutes.
Even with two key players sidelined, Donovan didn’t budge from his sparing rotations for rookie Matas Buzelis, who has yet to play more than nine minutes in a game this season. Buzelis played only four minutes in the first half and did not record a single point, assist or rebound.
Donovan said before the game that Buzelis is still growing into his playing time, noting the rookie’s struggles to rebound the ball against Memphis as a key area for improvement. While the coach said he is serious about getting Buzelis enough minutes to support his development this season, Donovan reiterated that the Bulls have not ruled out the G League as a potential destination for Buzelis to earn more playing time.
“It’s hard when you’re trying to win and then you’re trying to develop at the same time,” Donovan said. “Minutes — without question — is part of the developmental piece for him. But he’s got to earn minutes. … I still think there are things he can learn from the time that he’s getting. This idea of taking him and throwing him in there and playing him for 25 minutes, I don’t know if that’s the best thing for him.”
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