Magic at Bulls
A gritty comeback at Brooklyn has given the Chicago Bulls renewed hopes of snatching home-court advantage for the opening round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. The Bulls have a chance to make up more ground against three straight struggling opponents, beginning with Friday's home matchup against the reeling Orlando Magic. The injury-riddled Bulls rallied from 16 points down Thursday to pull within 1 1/2 games of the fourth-place Nets.
The Bulls rallied against Brooklyn despite the absence of five key players, including the starting backcourt of Derrick Rose and Richard Hamilton along with center Joakim Noah. The Magic have also been wracked by injuries, losing leading scorer Arron Afflalo and top forward Glen Davis for the season. In addition, point guard Jameer Nelson has missed the last three games with a sprained left ankle.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, Fox Sports Florida (Orlando), Comcast SportsNet Chicago
ABOUT THE MAGIC (19-57): Orlando has lost three straight on its current five-game road trip and is 1-11 in its last 12 games overall. Although the Magic have lost all three games since Nelson was hurt, backup Benu Udrih has filled in admirably despite playing alongside as many as three rookies in the starting unit. Udrih is averaging 17 points and 8.7 assists while knocking down 7-of-11 3-pointers in that span.
ABOUT THE BULLS (41-33): Forward Carlos Boozer sparked the comeback against the Nets and finished with 29 points and 18 rebounds. It was the seventh double-double in eight games for Boozer, who has elevated his game despite leading rebounder Noah sitting out the last seven games. "I feel great, in a good rhythm," Boozer said. "I'm just playing off my teammates, being aggressive when needed." He scored 31 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in Chicago's 96-94 win at Orlando on Jan. 2.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Chicago has won three straight and seven of eight against Orlando.
2. Magic C Nikola Vucevic is averaging 15 points and 14 boards in his last three games after a five-game injury absence.
3. Orlando was 12-13 at one point in the season and has gone 7-44 since.