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Bulls stifle Magic

Mar 20, 2012 - 5:29 AM Orlando, FL (Sports Network) - John Lucas scored 20 points in place of injured guard Derrick Rose to lead the Chicago Bulls to a convincing 85-59 victory over the Orlando Magic at Amway Center on Monday.

Chicago, playing without Rose for the fourth consecutive game, got a big night from Carlos Boozer. He recorded a double-double with 24 points and 13 rebounds and Luol Deng added 14 points to help the Bulls secure their NBA-best 19th road win of the season.

"It just shows how deep we are, how deep our bench is," Lucas said.

Orlando shot just 35 percent from the field (24-of-68) and failed to score over 20 points in any quarter. Dwight Howard led the way with 18 points and 12 boards, while Ryan Anderson chipped in 10 points for the Magic, who saw a four-game home winning streak come to an end.

"We're just not building solid habits and making good enough decisions," said Magic head coach Stan Van Gundy. "If you don't guard all year, you won't guard in the playoffs. You'll be left with what you do."

Lucas connected on three consecutive three-pointers with under two minutes left in the opening stanza to give the Bulls a 22-14 lead after one.

Boozer nailed back-to-back jumpers and Deng tacked on a triple to give the Bulls a 35-22 lead with 6:40 left in the second.

Hedo Turkoglu's triple brought Orlando within seven, 38-31, with under four minutes to play, but Chicago closed the half on a 10-2 surge to take a 48-33 lead into the locker room.

The Magic clawed their way back into the game with a 10-3 run to open the third, but the Bulls responded with the next six to restore the lead to double-digits, 57-43, with three minutes still to play in the stanza.

Chicago would take a 60-48 edge into the final frame.

Kyle Korver sank a three and Joakim Noah finished a three-point play in an 8-0 run that found the visitors leading 72-52 with just under seven minutes left in the game and the Magic never threatened again.

The win was Tom Thibodeau's 100th victory in 130 games as a head coach, making him the quickest to reach the century mark in NBA history.

Game Notes

Chicago will travel to Toronto on Wednesday, while Orlando will welcome the Suns on Wednesday...Orlando had just nine assists in the game, compared to 19 for Chicago...Chicago improved to 20-0 when holding teams below 90 points...The 59 points allowed by the Bulls marks a franchise record for fewest points allowed in a regular season game, previously set at 62.