CHICAGO — Matas Buzelis scored 17 of his 21 points in the second half, Kevin Huerter added 20 points and the Chicago Bulls rallied to beat the Orlando Magic 121-114 Friday night for their second straight victory.
Buzelis hit two free throws with 22.8 seconds left to make it 119-114, then pulled down his ninth rebound to send Isaac Okoro up for a game-clinching dunk with 4 seconds left. Buzelis also finished with a season-high seven assists.
Nikola Vucevic added 17 points and 10 rebounds and Ayo Dosumnu had 17 points as Chicago outscored Orlando 30-19 in the fourth quarter to climb to .500. (17-17).
Paolo Banchero scored 31 points and Anthony Black added 18 for the Magic in a game with 19 lead changes.
Jalen Suggs had 11 points for Orlando in his second game after missing seven with a hip injury, but left this one after landing hard and spraining his right knee late in the third quarter. Desmond Bane added 14 and Wendell Carter Jr. had 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Six Chicago players reached double figures as the Bulls played a second game without their two leading scorers, Josh Giddey and Coby White, who were injured in Monday night’s loss to Minnesota.
The Magic have been without their top scorer Franz Wagner (22.7 points per game) since he suffered a serious ankle sprain on December 7.
Orlando led 95-91 heading into the fourth quarter, but the Bulls took a 105-102 lead on Buzelis’ 3-pointer 4:44 into the quarter.
The Bulls found themselves tied at 59 at halftime on Huerter’s layup after falling behind by 10 early and leading by as many as 13 in the first quarter after the Magic went on a 14-0 run.
Banchero made his first four shots and made five of six to score 11 of his 13 points in the first half just after the opening 7:16.
Magic: Host Indiana on Sunday
Bulls: Host Charlotte on Saturday.
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AP NBA: https://www.apnews.com/nba
