Magic's 3-point shooting sends Bulls to defeat

Field Level Media|published: Wed 27th November, 21:52 2024

Nov 27, 2024; Orlando, Florida, USA; Orlando Magic guard Jalen Suggs (4) shoots the ball during the first quarter against the Chicago Bulls at Kia Center. Mandatory Credit: Mike Watters-Imagn Images

Jalen Suggs and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope put on a 3-point clinic to help the host Orlando Magic pummel the Chicago Bulls 133-119 on Wednesday night.

Suggs poured in 31 points and connected on 4-of-9 triples while Caldwell-Pope went 6-for-10 from beyond the arc en route to 24 points for Orlando, which has won 10 of its past 11 games. Franz Wagner chipped in 21 points, Moritz Wagner had 15 and Goga Bitadze finished with 11 to go along with 11 rebounds.

Ayo Dosunmu notched a team-high 21 points as Chicago continued a stretch of inconsistent play that has seen it alternate wins and losses over the past seven games. Nikola Vucevic paired 19 points and 11 boards, and Talen Horton-Tucker went for 20 points off the bench.

Despite falling, Chicago outshot the Magic 52.9 percent to 51.1 percent from the field.

It didn't take long for Orlando to pull away from the Bulls, as it put together an 11-3 run bridging the first and second quarters to take a 41-25 lead with 10:58 left in the first half.

A Lonzo Ball 3-pointer had Chicago within 10 with 7:02 remaining, but the Magic responded with 18 of the next 26 points to create a 66-46 cushion. Caldwell-Pope headlined the outburst with nine points.

Orlando took a comfortable 73-54 advantage into the break.

Caldwell-Pope virtually put the game away by himself in the first 39 seconds of the third quarter, converting a three-point play and knocking down a trey to lift the Magic to a 79-54 lead.

After seeing Orlando go up by as many as 27 in the frame, the Bulls chipped away, and they had their deficit down to 14, 102-88, when E.J. Liddell made good on a floater with four seconds remaining.

However, Suggs hit a trio of foul shots just before the buzzer to send the Magic into the final 12 minutes of action with a 17-point edge.

Chicago never seriously threatened the hosts in the fourth.

Ball took the floor for the first time since Oct. 28 and totaled six points, three assists and four steals in 15 minutes off the bench.

--Field Level Media

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