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Bulls-Magic Preview

Mar 2, 2016 - 6:50 AM While the postseason chances of the Orlando Magic have drifted into the danger zone, there continues to be a growing concern for those of the Chicago Bulls - and the defensive slumps that have led to this rival each other.

The Bulls hope to end a historically bad stretch guarding the basketball when they visit the struggling Magic on Wednesday night.

Chicago (30-29) entered the season as a consensus title contender but slipped out of the Eastern Conference's top eight spots with Tuesday's 129-111 loss at Miami, its third in a row.

That defeat dropped the Bulls to 8-17 since a season-high six-game win streak. It also extended a miserable defensive stretch the franchise hasn't seen in 30 years.

Chicago has surrendered at least 100 points to 14 straight opponents, the longest such streak since it allowed 25 consecutive teams to reach that number from Dec. 21, 1985-Feb. 17, 1986 - in Michael Jordan's second season.

Chicago's current slump of 14 is just two more than it allowed in the entire 2013-14 season.

The latest setback came against one of the lowest-scoring teams in the league. The Heat set a franchise record by shooting 67.5 percent and scored a season-high 129 points on Tuesday, handing the Bulls their sixth straight road loss.

Miami, which averages only 97.5 points, made 52 of 77 shots for the NBA's best single-game percentage since Utah matched it on Feb. 27, 2010, against Houston. No team has shot better since the Los Angeles Clippers' 69.3 percent on March 13, 1998, against Toronto.

It was a single-game high for a Bulls' opponent since field-goal percentage was first tracked in the 1983-84 season. Miami, which didn't even have leading scorer Chris Bosh, outscored Chicago 74-48 in the paint.

''A terrible defensive effort on our part,'' Pau Gasol said. ''We knew that this team was a high-scoring team in the paint, we didn't force them to take 3s, we didn't force them to take long shots. They pretty much got everything that they wanted.''

Though Derrick Rose returned after sitting out two games with tendinitis in his right hamstring and Jimmy Butler is nearing a return from a strained left knee, Taj Gibson left Tuesday's game with a right hamstring injury. His status for Wednesday is uncertain.

While falling into the league's lower half defensively, the Bulls are on the outside looking in on the playoffs for the first time since Jan. 1, 2014. They are one-half game back of Detroit and Indiana for the eighth seed in the East.

The Bulls have won 14 of 18 against the Magic, including a 92-87 home win on Nov. 1.

Orlando (26-33) dropped to 4 1/2 games back of the East's final spot with Tuesday's 121-108 loss at Dallas. The Magic are 7-20 since Jan. 1, including 4-9 at Amway Center.

Opponents are shooting 53.4 percent through Orlando's 2-4 stretch and four of the last five have scored at least 115 points.

"It's less about my message now and more about a response," coach Scott Skiles told the team's official website. "Somebody has got to respond and pick us up on the defensive end and get us going on the offensive end."

The defensive flips this season for both the Bulls and Magic are disconcerting. The Bulls allowed 99.7 points per game on 41.6 percent shooting while opening 22-12. Since, opponents have averaged 107 points on 46.3 percent.

Orlando started 19-13 while holding opponents to 98.4 per game on 43.7 percent, but those numbers have dropped to 107.1 and 47.4 since.