Hot start continues: Bulls take down Magic to stay unbeaten |
Dustin Riese
· · 3 hours ago
ORLANDO - Heading into the 2025-26 NBA season, a lot of people were wondering whether the Chicago Bulls' (2-0) finish to last season was a fluke, or if that was the start of something special. Keep in mind, this was a team that finished last season going 14-6 over their final 20 games and was one of the hottest teams entering the play-in round, which ultimately was the end of the road for them.
Given how difficult their schedule is to begin the season, Chicago is going to find out firsthand whether their final 20 games last season were a fluke or the team they expect to be this season. Coming off a huge season-opening win against the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday, the Bulls were back in action on Saturday as they hit the road to take on the Orlando Magic at the Kia Center Saturday Evening. Seen as one of the best teams in the East, and a possible NBA Finals team, Orlando is one of those teams primed to take a massive step forward this season after rebuilding their roster from the ground up. Given their success against Chicago over the past few seasons, you had to like Orlando's chances to win this game, but it was the Bulls' defense that set the tone as they took care of the Magic 110-98 for their second win of the season. You got a sense of how things were going to go from the start, as this was a back-and-forth game throughout the first three quarters, with the Bulls holding an 83-80 lead entering the fourth. It was in the final 12 minutes that the Bulls began to impose their will, as the Chicago defense held the Magic to just 18 points, while the offense dropped 27 to pull away for the victory. For the Bulls to have the success they want this season, it will come down to balanced scoring, as it did in this one, with seven players landing in double figures. Leading the way for Chicago was Josh Giddey, who finished the game with 21 points and added eight rebounds. Giddey has been the engine that makes this offense tick for a while now, which is why the Bulls made it a priority to re-sign him to a long-term deal. He was one of three starters to record double-figure points for the Bulls, with Nikola Vucevic and Tre Jones adding 15 points and 13 points, respectively. Apart from them, the Bulls starters struggled to get things rolling, as Matas Buzelis and Isaac Okoro combined for just three points. Okoro has now gone back-to-back games without a point. While the Bulls' starting lineup wasn't as strong as they'd like, it was the bench that flipped the game on its head, the single biggest reason the Bulls were able to hold a small lead before pulling away late. Coming up huge off the bench for the Bulls was Jalen Smith, who led their second unit with 16 points. Chicago also saw Ayo Dosunmu coming up huge for a second straight game as he added 15 points to give the bench a nice one-two punch. While they may have had the hot hands off the bench, the Bulls had plenty of success to go around with Patrick Williams picking up 12 points and Kevin Huerter adding 11 points to help pace the Bulls' offense in the win. As has been the case more often than not, Paolo Banchero had a monster showing against the Bulls, as this is one team he tends to have his way with. Not only did he lead all scorers with 24 points, but he pulled down 10 boards for a double-double as he is poised for a massive season. He was the lone Orlando player to score at least 20 points, as the Bulls' defense did a phenomenal job of preventing Orlando from settling in. Sure, Anthony Black came up huge with 19 points off the bench, but when you consider what the Bulls did against Franz Wagner, you can see just how good they were defensively. Wagner is the one player on this team who can take a game over in an instant, so to hold him to just 17 points on 7-15 shooting is a testament to the Bulls' defense. Desmond Bane also struggled to find a rhythm, finishing with only 14 points, as the Bulls continued their impressive start to the season with a huge road win.
