NBA: DeMar DeRozan scores 23 points, Bulls rout Magic 123-88

DeMar DeRozan scored 23 points, Zach LaVine added 21 and the Chicago Bulls beat the Orlando Magic 123-88 on Friday night.

Chicago center Nikola Vucevic, playing in Orlando for the first time after nine seasons with the Magic, added 16 points and eight rebounds, and Coby White came off the bench with 20 points on 9-for-11 shooting.

Wendell Carter Jr., who went the other way in the March 25 trade that sent Vucevic to Chicago, had 26 points and 10 rebounds for the Magic. Orlando has lost five straight.

Also Read | NBA: Young leads Hawks past Grizzlies as Morant injures left knee

The Magic never recovered from a run of 18 straight Chicago points midway through the first half. Orlando shot 37.5 % overall and made only 7 of 32 3-point shots.

DeRozan, the NBA’s No. 7 scorer at 25.8 points per game, did not convert a field goal until 1:45 remained in the first half.

The Bulls took command by scoring the first 16 points of the second quarter to lead 43-27. During that stretch of nearly four minutes, White scored seven points for Chicago while the Magic had four turnovers and missed all five of their shots.

Carter and rookie Jalen Suggs helped the Magic get the lead down to nine points by halftime, but DeRozan answered with three 3-pointers in the third quarter, topping one of them off as a four-point play.

Also Read | NBA fines LeBron James $15,000 over obscene gesture during Pacers win

Cole Anthony, Orlando’s leading scorer, missed a fourth straight game with a sprained right ankle.

TIP-INS

Bulls: Chicago coach Billy Donovan, who briefly was Magic coach before returning to the Florida Gators and never actually coaching a game for Orlando, has now faced four different Magic coaches: Scott Skiles, Frank Vogel, Steve Clifford and Jamahl Mosley. … Many teams get scheduled to play Orlando and Miami on the same trip to Florida. The Bulls haven’t had such a trip since March 2018 and don’t have one this season, either.

Magic: Orlando plays seven of its next eight and 10 of its next 13 games on the road. … Continuing a Thanksgiving tradition now in its 29th year, team employees — including Mosley, who sponsored the meal — served breakfast Thursday to more than 400 men, women and children at a homeless shelter.

Also Read | NBA: Booker, Suns extend win streak to 15, beat Knicks 118-97

VOOCH RETURNS

It was Vucevic’s first time back in Orlando as a visiting player since getting traded to Chicago last season. He’s the Magic’s all-time leader in field goals made, plus ranks second in rebounds, third in points and blocked shots and fourth in games played. He played at Orlando as an opponent once before, getting 10 points and five rebounds for Philadelphia in a 103-87 Magic win on Feb. 15, 2012.

UP NEXT

Bulls: Host Miami on Saturday.

Magic: At Cleveland on Saturday.