ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - Terrence Ross made some shots and his Orlando teammates blocked a bunch of them.
Ross scored a season-high 26 points Monday night and the Magic rejected 13 shots to break a three-game losing streak with a 103-95 victory over the Chicago Bulls.
Mo Bamba came off the bench to block four shots, and Jonathan Isaac and Aaron Gordon blocked three apiece.
“That’s who we have to be,” Magic coach Steve Clifford said. “We’re long, we have size, we have versatility.
“The other guys did great things, but without (Ross), we would have been playing from eight, 10 behind there in the third quarter. He kept us in the game and made shot after shot.”
Zach LaVine led Chicago with 26 points on 8-of-26 shooting, but the Bulls managed only 14 points in the fourth quarter. Tomas Satoransky added 20 points and was 4 of 5 on 3-point shots.
“It’s very difficult to win a road game when you have 17 turnovers and they have 13 blocks,” Bulls coach Jim Boylen said.
Nikola Vucevic had 21 points and seven rebounds for Orlando, which held the Bulls to 31 percent shooting in the second half. Isaac, who also put up 13 points, nine rebounds, five assists and four steals, said the shot rejections turned around the game.
“Just getting the crowd involved and how it changed the momentum of the game,” Isaac said. “When (opponents) come in there and it looks like they’ve got something easy and they don’t get it done, that’s demoralizing.”
Ross, who made six 3-pointers, hit a short jumper and a 3-pointer on a 7-0 Magic run early in the fourth quarter to put Orlando ahead to stay.
“It felt good to finally make some shots,” he said. “Any time somebody makes shots, it’s going to have an impact on the whole team. It just happened to be me tonight.”
With LaVine hitting two free throws and a 3-pointer, the Bulls scored the first nine points of the game.
Lauri Markkanen and LaVine made two 3-pointers apiece in the last 4:15 of the first half to leave Chicago with a 54-51 lead at the break.
TIP-INS
Bulls: Daniel Gafford left the game early in the second quarter with a cut above his right eye. He returned in the third quarter. … Before Kris Dunn got fouled with 5:59 left in the third quarter, the Bulls were looking at a 21-2 deficit in free throw attempts.
Magic: Michael Carter-Williams did not play due to a shoulder injury sustained Friday night. … The Magic were outrebounded (48-46) for the ninth straight game. … Markelle Fultz gave sneakers and game tickets to 20 Orlando area students as a holiday surprise.
BULLS COULDN’T RUN THE NUMBERS
“Orlando is a very good defensive team. They do not let you get out and run,” Boylen said before the game. “We would like to get out and run.”
The Magic had only 12 turnovers (6 1/2 below the Bulls’ league-leading average) and the Bulls had only six fast-break points.
UP NEXT
Bulls: Play at home against Atlanta on Saturday night.
Magic: Play at home against Philadelphia on Friday night.
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