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Bulls take winning streak to Orlando

Apr 10, 2011 - 2:59 PM (Sports Network) - A pair of playoff-bound powerhouses from the East collide this afternoon in central Florida, as the top-seeded Chicago Bulls put their six-game winning on the line against the Orlando Magic at Amway Center.

Chicago wrapped up the top spot in the conference with a big win Friday night in Cleveland, as Carlos Boozer led the way with 24 points and 11 rebounds in a 93-82 triumph at Quicken Loans Arena. MVP candidate Derrick Rose was held to just 11 points, his lowest output since posting six points in a win at Toronto on Dec. 15.

Luol Deng had 10 points, nine rebounds and six assists for the Bulls, who will play Indiana in the first round of the playoffs and are the East's top team since the 1997-98 campaign, when the Michael Jordan-led Bulls won their third straight and sixth NBA title in eight years. The Bulls have won six in a row and 18 of their last 20 games.

"We are the No. 1 seed and we have home-court advantage and we are not satisfied," Bulls forward Joakim Noah said. "We're trying to catch up to San Antonio and we're focused on our next opponent and that's it."

Chicago has won five in a row on the road and will resume its three-game trek in New York on Tuesday. It is 24-15 away from the Windy City and will close out the regular season Wednesday at home versus New Jersey.

Orlando is entrenched at the No. 4 spot in the Eastern Conference and will not have Dwight Howard or Quentin Richardson for today's game. Howard collected his 18th technical foul of the season in Wednesday's 111-102 overtime win in Charlotte after being whistled for a 10-second violation at the free throw line. Richardson was slapped with a two-game penalty for shoving Bobcats guard Gerald Henderson in the face during a heated exchange in the fourth quarter.

Howard had 15 points and Gilbert Arenas poured in 25 to lead Orlando, which has won two straight and eight of 11 games. Brandon Bass and Jameer Nelson scored 19 and 18 points, respectively, for the Magic, who got 17 points from Hedo Turkoglu. The Magic shot 53.9 percent and halted a three-game road skid.

"This is great win for us tonight. We really hung in there. There were times where it looked like we were going to give up but we hung in there," Arenas told NBA.com. "For me, I just wanted to go out there and be a scorer for us tonight."

The Magic will visit Philadelphia on Monday before closing out the regular season versus Indiana two nights later. They are 28-11 at home and unbeaten in four straight contests at Amway Center. Orlando guard Jason Richardson (knee) is listed as probable for Sunday's bout with Chicago.

Chicago leads the 2010-11 series with Orlando by a 2-1 count, but the Magic are 10-4 in the previous 14 meetings between the two clubs. The Bulls have lost 15 of their previous 22 trips to central Florida.