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FANS GAME THREAD*** Bulls vs. Magic... we get it handed to us

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Beer in hand, Tiger Woods settled into his courtside seat just before tipoff of the Orlando Magic's nationally televised game Thursday night at Amway Arena.

 

He wasn't around for the second half. The golf superstar has seen routs like this before, from the Chicago Bulls' point of view.

 

Tiger knows drama, just as TNT knows drama -- and there was none in the Magic's dreadful 100-76 loss to the Bulls.

 

"I'd have left, too, if I could have," said point guard Jameer Nelson, disgustedly.

 

The Magic (29-34) turned in one of their worst performances at the worst possible time -- in the throes of a playoff race.

 

Getting blown out at home with so much at stake might leave even the staunchest supporters at a loss.

 

Orlando remains at No. 8 in the forgiving Eastern Conference but could have begun a surge to higher ground with a victory. Instead, it lost for the eighth time in its past 10 games.

 

The Magic never recovered from a disastrous second quarter, going seven minutes without a point. They could get no closer than 14 in the second half after trailing by 20 points at halftime.

 

The Magic shot 39.4 percent -- missing many shots from point-blank range early -- and were 18 of 36 from the free-throw line.

 

The Bulls reversed a rebounding advantage the Magic exploited in their previous victory in Chicago Feb. 26, manhandling Orlando 48-31 on the boards.

 

It took almost the entire game for Orlando to break the 70-point barrier. Its season-low for points was 74, recorded last week in a 98-74 loss to the San Antonio Spurs.

 

The Bulls (36-28) looked fresher, outworking the Magic despite getting pounded Wednesday night by the Heat in Miami.

 

The sellout crowd wasn't too appreciative of the Magic's, booing them when they fell behind 44-23.

 

"I'm not sure if we've ever played a first half like we played tonight, as far as not being able to make shots, either field goals or free throws," Coach Brian Hill said. "Obviously, we put ourselves in a big hole and it was too much to climb out of."

 

The Magic's injury bug continued to bite. Just as they regained the services of shooting guard Grant Hill, Hedo Turkoglu was hit in the nose in the second period and didn't return. He was being evaluated for a broken nose.

 

Hill came off the bench for just the fifth time in his Magic career and had a miserable outing. He finished with seven points and was 0-for-5 from the field.

 

Bulls guard Ben Gordon led all scorers with 25 points while point guard Kirk Hinrich -- who started the assault -- finished with 17.

 

Center Dwight Howard led the Magic with 17 points and 14 rebounds, but had a nightmarish effort at the free-throw line (5-of-14). Nelson added 13 points and Trevor Ariza 10.

 

Orlando had beaten Chicago twice in two attempts this season, the latest victory in Chicago.

 

Big men Howard and Darko Milicic (two points, five rebounds Thursday) dominated that game, outrebounding the entire Bulls team. Not this time.

 

Hinrich and the Bulls dictated the pace early with their defense, then frustrated the Magic guards by dribbling past them at will.

 

Trailing 30-23 with nine minutes, 15 seconds left in the second quarter, Orlando didn't score a field goal until 1:08 remained before halftime.

 

During the Bulls' 14-0 run, the Magic missed 10 consecutive shots, including four layups.

 

"I haven't looked at the stat sheet," Nelson said, "but I'm quite sure it wasn't good. . . . We didn't come out aggressively at all."

 

They needed to come out like a tiger, but instead chased off one named Woods.

 

Brian Schmitz can be reached at bschmitz@orlandosentinel.com.

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Morning Hardwood: Bouncin' Back and Rollin' Along

Posted Mar 9th 2007 9:00AM by J.E. Skeets

Filed under: Bulls, Magic, NBA Last Night

 

A quick look back at Thursday night in The Association ...

 

An Excellent Stress Reliever. One night after being slapped around by Shaq and his cronies, the Bulls grabbed the Magic and squeezed for an easy 100-76 win. Ben Gordon and Kirk Hinrich combined for 42 points, including seven bombs from behind the arc. However, this game was such a yawner that Tiger Woods -- a golfer! -- left his courtside seats at halftime never to return. And oh, yeah, I can't name names, but reputable sources tell me that four or five Magic players were seen reading the FireBrianHill.org website immediately following the game. I'm just saying...

 

http://nba.aolsportsblog.com/

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I am giving up the 2 most frustrating things in my life.

 

1.) Golf

2.) Support for the Orlando Magic and my Season Tickets

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quote:
Originally posted by Greg:

I am giving up the 2 most frustrating things in my life.

 

1.) Golf

2.) Support for the Orlando Magic and my Season Tickets

 

So you took the time to register just to tell us that you're not going to support the Magic anymore? That's real smart.

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