Magic 101, Bulls 98

Although Chicago forward Tyrus Thomas had 22 points and 13 rebounds in a win over Minnesota on Friday, Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro did not start the big man in yesterday’s matchup against the Orlando Magic. In 25 minutes against the Magic, Thomas was able to finish with 10 points and three rebounds. Ryan Anderson’s 3-pointer in the final minute and Dwight Howard’s 18 points gave the Magic a 101-98 victory over the Bulls. Trailing 92-91, Anderson gave the Magic (6-0) the lead with a 3-pointer with only 40 seconds left of the game. After Brad Miller missed a jumper for the Bulls, Howard went to the charity stripe and swooshed two free throws to extend the lead 96-92 with 21.2 seconds remaining. Kirk Hinrich hit a jumper with 18.4 seconds left of the game to bring the Bulls within two. The back-and-forth scoring continued when Orlando’s Jameer Nelson buried both of his free throws. Then Hinrich nailed a 3 over Howard to make it 98-97 with 8.5 second left of the game. Vince Carter secured the win for the Magic after he registered two free throws with 7.2 seconds left on the clock. After the game, Howard told the press “It’s just preseason. We can’t be ‘We went undefeated in preseason.’ Your record in the preseason play is meaningless.”

Purchase Bulls tickets at stubhub.