This game really was a tale of four quarters. First, we saw the Magic move the ball freely while the Bulls looked flat. We secondly saw a lot of successfully penetrating to the basket on both ends followed by poor offense by the sides in the third. For the fourth and final frame, the Bulls slowly, but surely pulled ahead to put the game out of reach with clutch offense and defense.
In his second game of the season, Jimmy Butler led the Bulls with 21 points and went 7-of-11 from the free throw line despite a bandaged hand. With no Rose or Noah, the offense was somewhat forced to revolve around him and he answered the call. At a time when he's made his allegiance to Chicago clear despite no new contract signed, he's trying to convince the Bulls he'll be worth overpaying for this summer.
Pau Gasol and Taj Gibson each scored 16 in equally impressive fashions. Gasol's total was part of a double-double, which included 13 rebounds. Although he only had a couple of offensive putbacks, it certainly appears he's more comfortable with this task than Carlos Boozer ever was. Gibson got in early trouble and ended up with five fouls, but he turned fearless at the right time and his play showed it.
Aaron Brooks provided the latest evidence that he'll be next in the line of successful backup point guards on this team, scoring 13 and leading all players with eight assists and three blocks. Both three-pointers he shot went in as well. Doug McDermott showed off his high basketball IQ by driving to the basket and even throwing down an emphatic dunk. He finished with 12 to indicate he continues to adjust to the NBA just fine.
Although the Bulls were without their two best players, that shouldn't be an excuse for allowing so many close baskets. Fortunately for them, the Magic are an inferior team who shot themselves in the foot plenty of times. Plus, they had just enough in the tank on both ends to finish Orlando off. Talent almost always wins out in the NBA and the team that had more of it got the victory.
The Bulls will travel by bus tomorrow to take on the Milwaukee Bucks at the BMO Harris Bradley Center. This will be Jabari Parker's first matchup against his hometown team and it's very likely the Bulls contingent will be well represented in the seats. The Bucks have a long way to go, although Parker is a good start. Hopefully, Rose will be healthy enough to go one-on-one with him a few times.
Little bit of trivia to close: the Bulls played the Magic at home on the night of the midterm elections. I watched these same two teams at the United Center two years ago on the night Obama was reelected. This was also the fourth game of the season, and I saw this matchup as the fourth game of the '97-98 season. How do these things happen?
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