Magic eke out win over Bulls in Mexico City

[December 14, 2018]  Nikola Vucevic hit a tiebreaking jumper with 28.8 seconds left, and the Orlando Magic emerged with a 97-91 win over the Chicago Bulls on Thursday night in Mexico City.

Vucevic led all scorers with 26 points to go along with 10 rebounds, bouncing back from his lowest point total of the season (eight) in Orlando's blowout loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Monday.

D.J. Augustin added 15 points and seven rebounds, and Orlando, which was designated as the home team Thursday, snapped a three-game losing streak.

Zach LaVine had 23 points and Justin Holiday added 18 for Chicago, which has lost 14 of its past 16 games. The Bulls are 1-4 since Jim Boylen took over as coach for the fired Fred Hoiberg.

Chicago tied the game at 91 when Lauri Markannen made 3-pointer with 1:06 left in the game. Vucevic then put Orlando ahead on a wide-open jumper off an inbounds play.

LaVine missed a shot to tie the game again, and Augustin iced the game by sinking four straight from the free-throw line in the last 10 seconds.

The Bulls started the fourth quarter with a 10-0 run to take a 81-77 lead, their first lead since early in the second quarter. Orlando didn't make its first field goal in the final period until 6:22 remained in the game.

Augustin hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Magic a double-digit lead early in the second quarter, but Chicago shrank the deficit to 51-46 by halftime.

Orlando Magic's Evan Fournier in action with Chicago Bulls' Robin Lopez REUTERS/Carlos Jasso

The Bulls took the lead early in the game and were on top 26-24 after the first quarter. Orlando turned it around in the second, scoring seven straight to open the period.

Evan Fournier and Mo Bamba returned to the lineup after missing Orlando's 101-76 loss to the Mavericks. Bamba was suspended for a violation of team rules, and Fournier missed the game for personal reasons. Fournier finished with 10 points Thursday, and Bamba added eight.

It was the eighth regular-season game the NBA has held in the Arena Ciudad de Mexico.

--Field Level Media

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