ORLANDO, Florida — DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine each scored 32 points each, Nikola Vucevic added 26 points and 13 rebounds and the Chicago Bulls turned back a late rally and beat the Orlando Magic, 128-109, on Saturday night (Sunday, Manila time).
Mo Wagner led the Magic with 27 points, combining with Cole Anthony and Jalen Suggs to lead a furious second-half rally that cut a 25-point deficit to six.
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Patrick Williams had 16 points and six rebounds for the Bulls, who shot 59.3 percent for the game.
Vucevic, who played more than eight seasons in Orlando, had 17 points and eight rebounds in the first half, leading Chicago to a 60-47 lead at the break.
A 3-pointer by Vucevic stretched the Bulls' lead to 24 points and a free throw by LaVine made it 89-64, Chicago's largest lead of the game, with 3:27 left in the third quarter.
Wagner scored the Magic's final 11 points in the third period and their first five points in the fourth, pulling the Magic back into contention.
Anthony finished with 21 points, six rebounds and six assists.
TIP-INS
Bulls: G Lonzo Ball, who has not played since tearing his left meniscus on May 10, 2021, is not yet back to running on a consistent basis and will likely not play this season, unless he is making progress by the All-Star break, according to coach Billy Donovan. ... G Goran Dragic had seven points in 13 minutes after missing three games due to illness. ... DeRozan, who came into the game with a 26.3 scoring average, played eight scoreless minutes in the first quarter without taking a shot.
Magic: F Jonathan Isaac had five points and four rebounds in nine minutes in his third game back from a knee injury. ... The Magic missed their first eight 3-point attempts and finished 10 for 28.
UP NEXT
Bulls: Host the LA Clippers on Tuesday night.
Magic: Play at Philadelphia on Monday night.
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