RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
CHICAGO (AP) -- Tracy McGrady is no longer welcome in Chicago.
|  | | Chicago's Ron Mercer wins the rebounding battle with Orlando's Monty Williams Thursday night. |
Still irked that he spurned the Chicago Bulls after they wined
and dined him and even introduced him to Sammy Sosa at Wrigley
Field, fans booed McGrady every time he got near the ball Thursday
night.
As if that wasn't satisfaction enough, the Bulls played their
most spirited game of the season, beating the Orlando Magic 95-90
for their first win.
"That's the loyalty of our fans," Elton Brand said. "I don't
know if that affected him. It was the thought that counted."
McGrady finished with 21 points, only one below his average, but
was just 9-of-19 from the line. He had two turnovers to go with his
six rebounds and six assists.
McGrady almost burned the Bulls once again, hitting a 3-pointer
with 11 seconds left to cut Chicago's lead to 93-90. But Khalid
El-Amin and Ron Artest hit their free throws to seal the game.
"They fed off the crowd, booing me every time I touched the
ball," McGrady said. "I enjoyed it, but I wish I could have got
the win. It hurts."
For the Bulls, it couldn't have felt better. Expected to improve
over last year's horrid bunch, they struggled in the first four
games. But they came out with a fire they haven't shown this year,
pushing the ball up the floor, playing stifling defense,
outrebounding the Magic 58-41 and making clutch plays when they
needed them.
No one came through bigger than Ron Mercer, the Bulls big pickup
after McGrady, Grant Hill and Eddie Jones all dismissed them. He
recorded season-highs with 23 points and 10 rebounds, and also had
a steal and two blocked shots.
Michael Ruffin grabbed a career-high 18 rebounds and scored 10
points, while A.J. Guyton added 18. Marcus Fizer had 14.
"It is really encouraging that we scored 95 points and we only
got a field goal out of Elton Brand, which I do not think we could
have done a year ago," coach Tim Floyd said.
Brand had 13 rebounds, but scored just eight points on 1-of-10
shooting.
"As long as we get those wins, that's all I'm worried about,"
Brand said.
Michael Doleac and Pat Garrity added a spark for the Magic off
the bench, scoring 15 and 14 points, respectively. Darrell
Armstrong had 13.
The Magic had a tough loss to Charlotte on Wednesday night, and
they looked sluggish starting out. No one struggled more than
McGrady, who missed his first five shots and finished the first
quarter just 1-of-6.
The rest of the Magic weren't much better, making just four
baskets in the first 10 minutes of the first quarter.
"I wasn't so worried about the hole we dug, but more about how
our offense was stuck," Orlando coach Doc Rivers said. "I changed
some things for the guys before the game and it wasn't effective. I
take that part of the blame for this loss."
But the Magic got themselves back into the game. A 17-4 run gave
the Bulls a 19-point lead with 6:37 left in the third, but they
went cold after that.
With McGrady drawing double-teams, the Magic kicked the ball to
Garrity and Armstrong. Garrity's 18-foot jumper started a 12-3 run,
and Armstrong's layup cut it to 70-62 with 1:05 left.
Fizer's hook shot gave the Bulls an 81-72 lead with 6:44 left,
but their offense stalled again as they went almost three minutes
without a field goal. McGrady converted on a three-point play,
Monty Williams hit a layup, and Doleac drilled a 17-foot jumper to
bring the Magic within 82-79 with 4:23 left.
But Mercer scored five points, giving the Bulls enough of a
cushion to win.
"Not really," Floyd said when asked if beating Orlando had
added significance because of the free agency battle the teams had
this summer.
"Not when you're 0-4. We could have beaten Guam and felt good
about it."
Game
notes
Floyd was called for a technical with 49 seconds left in
the first quarter. ... One game after breaking their 13-year,
610-game sellout streak, the Bulls sold out Thursday's game. ...
The Bulls outrebounded the Magic 22-7 in the first quarter. ...
Chicago never trailed in the game.
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NBA Scoreboard
Orlando Clubhouse
Chicago Clubhouse
RECAPS
Seattle 102
Charlotte 94
Detroit 108
New Jersey 94
Philadelphia 84
Minnesota 82
Chicago 95
Orlando 90
Houston 85
Vancouver 78
Phoenix 88
Atlanta 79
Portland 107
Denver 91
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