Having earned a spot among the final eight in the NBA Cup, the Orlando Magic hope their impressive form transitions to non-tournament play when they host the struggling Chicago Bulls on Monday night.
The Magic swept the Boston Celtics, Brooklyn Nets, Philadelphia 76ers and Detroit Pistons to advance into the Cup’s Eastern semifinals and host the Miami Heat next Tuesday for a chance to go to Las Vegas and reach the annual event’s final four.
The Magic scored just 112 points in a three-point win at Detroit on Friday to clinch the top spot in East Group B after having topped 120 in each of their previous five games.
Orlando also reached the final eight of the NBA Cup a year ago but found itself in Milwaukee, where the Bucks prevailed 114-109.
When last seen in Orlando, the Magic were sweeping the Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Clippers and New York Knicks, averaging 127.7 points per game.
Orlando will now play three of four regularly scheduled contests at home before the elimination matchup with the Heat. The Magic have won five in a row at the Kia Center.
“We’re so happy to be home,” Magic coach Jamahl Mosley assured reporters after wrapping up in Detroit. “We have some of the best fans in the NBA, and they’re going to be back there supporting us, ready to go.”
Desmond Bane has been the driving force in Orlando’s recent offensive surge. Despite not making any of his trademark 3-pointers, he went for 37 points in the win over the Pistons, giving him 20 or more points in seven of his last 12 games.
Bane had just 14 points when the Magic suffered a 110-98 home loss to the Bulls in October, back when each team’s form was nothing like what it is now.
That loss was the second of what would be four in a row for Orlando, which struggled through a 3-for-24 night on 3-pointers. Having imported Bane to improve upon last year’s 34.7% success rate from deep, the Magic struggled out of the gate this year, actually falling back to 33.5% in October, before improving to 35.2% in November.
The Bulls, meanwhile, opened the season with five consecutive wins, the triumph over the Magic being the lone road date in the streak. But they have since dropped 10 of 14, including eight of their last 10 on the road.
This will complete a four-game trip in which Chicago has run the gamut of defeats — a high-scoring affair at New Orleans (143-130), an average-scoring night at Charlotte (123-116) and a defensive struggle at Indiana (103-101).
Defending the 3-point line has been the least of the Bulls’ problems, coach Billy Donovan assured the media in Indianapolis.
“We’ve had the ball driven through us quite honestly,” he assessed after watching his club give up an average of 56.7 points in the paint on the first three stops of the current trip. “We have to be better absorbing the first dribble. Our biggest challenge has been the controlling of the basketball, in particular one-on-one and in space.”
Josh Giddey had 21 points in the earlier win at Orlando. He also has averaged 21 during the three-game skid.
