Bulls 87, Magic 86: Nate Robinson scored 12 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter and host Chicago held off Orlando to move into sole possession of fifth place in the Eastern Conference.
Luol Deng also scored 19 points as the Bulls moved one game ahead of Atlanta and closed within a game of fourth-place Brooklyn in the battle for home-court advantage in the opening round of the playoffs.
Beno Udrih scored 27 points, including 18 in the third quarter, and Nikola Vucevic had 16 and 15 rebounds for the Magic, who lost their fourth straight and fell to 1-12 in their last 13 games.
Udrih scored 14 consecutive points in the third quarter and Orlando built an eight-point lead, but Robinson nailed a 3-pointer at the buzzer to cut Chicago's deficit to 70-66 entering the fourth.
Robinson scored 10 points in the first five minutes of the fourth to put the Bulls ahead and Deng hit a 3-pointer to spark an 8-0 run that extended the lead to 87-78 with 3:50 to play. The Magic stormed back with an 8-0 burst to get within one with 1:33 to play but neither team scored the rest of the way.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Magic rookie F Moe Harkless limped off the court in the first quarter and did not return due to a sore left knee. ... Chicago was again without Joakim Noah (foot), Taj Gibson (knee), Marco Belinelli (abdominal strain), Richard Hamilton (lower back) and Derrick Rose (knee). ... PG Jameer Nelson (ankle) sat out his fourth straight game for Orlando, which lost its fourth in a row to the Bulls.
Orlando | Chicago | |
Beno Udrih 27 | Scoring | Luol Deng 19 |
Beno Udrih 7 | Assists | Nate Robinson 5 |
Nikola Vucevic 15 | Rebounds | Nazr Mohammed 11 |
Beno Udrih 4 | Free Throws Made | Luol Deng 7 |
Beno Udrih 2 | Steals | Carlos Boozer 2 |
Maurice Harkless 2 | Blocks | Nazr Mohammed 3 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Orlando | 86 | 42.5 | 4-10 | 14-17 | 18 | 45 | 7 | 6 | 13 |
Chicago | 87 | 40.2 | 8-20 | 13-14 | 19 | 37 | 6 | 10 | 12 |