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Howard leads Magic past Bulls

Mar 9, 2012 - 5:36 AM Chicago, IL (Sports Network) - Dwight Howard scored a game-high 29 points to go with 18 rebounds, leading the Orlando Magic past the Chicago Bulls, 99-94, at United Center on Thursday.

Jason Richardson shot 4-of-6 from three-point range en route to 18 points before rolling his left ankle in the fourth quarter, while Ryan Anderson chipped in a double-double with 11 points and 10 boards as the Magic bounced back from a 100-84 loss on Tuesday to the woeful Charlotte Bobcats.

Carlos Boozer led the way for Chicago with 26 points and Derrick Rose scored 17 while handing out nine assists. Taj Gibson netted 14 for the Bulls, who saw an eight-game win streak come to an end.

"I think everyone is tired at this time of the year," said Bulls forward Joakim Noah about the team playing its fourth game in five nights. "There's really no excuses. We had our chances so that's what is disappointing."

Orlando looked poised to pull away in the fourth as J.J. Redick's free throw made it an 84-75 margin less than two minutes in, but Chicago responded with the next nine as Noah made two from the line to tie the game at 84 just before the midway point of the final frame.

Kyle Korver's technical free throw retied the game at 89, and Boozer connected on an elbow-jumper to give the Bulls a 91-89 edge with just under three minutes to play.

However, the Magic would close the game on a 10-3 run over the final 2:55 to complete the road victory.

Howard finished an alley-oop from Jameer Nelson, and after a Rose miss, Anderson connected on a triple.

Rose's potentially game-tying three missed the mark and Anderson added two more from the stripe to give the Magic a decisive 96-91 lead with 45.7 remaining.

"Chicago made a run and instead of us folding and giving up, we played together, stayed together and got a good win," Howard said after the victory.

Orlando connected on six three-pointers in the first quarter, including two each from Hedo Turkoglu and Richardson en route to a 37-22 lead at the end of the first frame.

Redick buried a jumper to press the lead to 17 with under four minutes left until halftime, but the Bulls closed the stanza on a 15-3 run to make it a 57-52 deficit heading into the locker room.

Luol Deng hit a three from the right wing, and after a Noah steal on the defensive end, Rose sank a 30-foot buzzer beater to cap the run.

Chicago took its first lead of the game when Boozer connected on a jumper with 5:26 left in the third to take a 66-65 edge but Richardson drilled back-to- back three-pointers to close out the third stanza, giving the Magic a 79-71 edge heading into the final frame.

Game Notes

Chicago will host Utah on Saturday, while Orlando welcomes the Pacers on Sunday...Chicago shot 22.7 percent (5-of-22) from long range and Orlando connected on 42.3 percent (11-of-26) of its three-pointers.