ORLANDO – Reaching heights they haven’t even approached in years, the hot-shooting, high-scoring Orlando Magic returned to the Amway Center on Friday eager to show off their progress to an adoring sellout crowd.
Instead, the Magic’s improvement was all but a rumor on Friday as they struggled offensively and defensively and their feel-good vibes were replaced by the frustration of losing to the one-win Chicago Bulls.
As shocking as the Magic’s stellar play was in the first eight games of the season, their plunge on Friday was equally surprising. An Orlando team that entered the night tied for the best record in the NBA seemed to lose its way offensively and couldn’t string together defensive stops in a humbling 105-83 loss to the rebuilding Bulls.