The Orlando Magic lead the Chicago Bulls 57-52 after one half at United Center. Looking to rebound from their embarrassing 16-point loss to the Charlotte Bobcats, the Magic came out firing on all cylinders on the offensive end. Against perhaps the best defensive team in the league, the Magic scored 37 points in the first quarter alone - drilling their threes and pounding it in to Dwight Howard who dominated the paint.
Howard finished with a double-double in the first half alone, scoring 19 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Jason Richardson has been an x-factor all season for Stan Van Gundy's club, and he has ten points so far. As a team, Orlando shot 54 percent from behind the arc. But it was the dominance of Howard on the interior that completely set the tone.
Unfortunately for the Magic, the Bulls finished the half on a furious 15-3 run. The final minute and a half completely took the wind out of Orlando's sails, as the Bulls cut into a sizable Magic lead. Reigning MVP Derrick Rose drilled a running 30 footer at the buzzer to give Chicago complete momentum heading into the locker room.
An animated gif of the shot below:
For more on the Magic, please visit Orlando Pinstriped Post, SB Nation's Magic blog. For the perspective from the other side, please visit SB Nation Chicago and BlogABull, SB Nation's Bulls blog. For all things NBA, visit SB Nation's NBA hub