Bulls at Magic
The Orlando Magic carried the NBA's second-longest active winning streak into the All-Star break, a run they'll try to continue Friday night at home against the Chicago Bulls. The Magic won their final five games before the intermission and scored at least 122 points in three of those victories.
They've won seven of eight overall, including a 127-89 rout of Charlotte prior to the break, and emerged from the intermission just a half-game out of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. "We feel good about ourselves and we want to do this, and we feel that we have a good chance to do it. But it's on us to do it," All-Star center Nikola Vucevic told reporters of the team's playoff push. "If we do the right things and play the same way that we did over the last eight games – obviously we’re not going to blow people out by 20 or 30 – but if we bring that same mindset and attitude, we'll have a chance against these teams. But it's got to start on Friday and from now on we can't have any bad nights." The Bulls have had plenty of those bad nights but they did enter the break on a good note by topping Memphis 122-110 on Feb. 13. Chicago is averaging just 88.3 points in three meetings with the Magic, winning once.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, WGN-TV (Chicago), FS Florida (Orlando)
ABOUT THE BULLS (14-44): Chicago is likely headed toward the draft lottery again and could benefit from dropping more games down the stretch, but don't tell that to coach Jim Boylen. "From my vantage point, I'm worried about us growing, and you grow when you have pressure put on you," Boylen told reporters when asked about the team tanking to improve draft position. "You grow when you have something at stake. So I'm going to keep pushing these guys to grow as a team and — I've said it before — push them without being combative, push them without having them get frustrated. The benefit of that for the team and the franchise is valuable, too." Newcomer Otto Porter Jr. had the look of a player that wants to finish strong in the win over the Grizzlies by scoring a career-high 37 points on 16-of-20 shooting.
ABOUT THE MAGIC (27-32): Coach Steve Clifford is confident the lengthy break will not upset the team's momentum, and he knows the key to sustaining the team's recent success. "It's going to be the same thing – what you have to be concentrating on is playing well," Clifford told reporters. "In our last 10 (games), we were first in defense in the league and 14th in offense. Actually, since Jan. 1 – even though we had that tough stretch – we're fourth in defense. So, (the defensive success) has been sustainable and our offense is getting better." Orlando held four opponents under 90 points during its 7-1 surge.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Vucevic had a double-double in each of the five straight wins and entered Thursday fourth in the NBA with 41.
2. Bulls C Robin Lopez scored 25 points on 10-of-15 shooting in the win over the Grizzlies and is shooting 68.8 percent from the floor over his last seven games.
3. Orlando shot 57.9 percent in the most recent encounter, a 112-84 win at Chicago on Jan. 2.