Bulls Vs. Magic Final Score: Dwight Howard Scores 40, But Chicago Wins, 99-90

Dwight Howard put together an outstanding individual performance on Friday night, but the Orlando Magic couldn’t overcome a strong team performance by the Chicago Bulls. The Bulls overcame Howard’s 40 points and 15 rebounds in a 99-90 win at the United Center in Chicago.

Howard had a strong all-around night, hitting 14-20 shots from the field and 12-16 from the line. His 15 rebounds easily led the Magic, with five of his boards coming on the offensive end. In the end, it wasn’t enough as the Magic were unable to find another scoring option.

The Magic shot 41 percent from the field, but only hit 5-21 threes, just a 23.8 percent rate. Chicago, on the other hand, shot 42.5 percent and 44.4 percent from three, hitting 8-18 from long range. The Bulls also out-rebounded the Magic by a 54-40 margin.

Three Chicago players were in double-figures, led by Luol Deng’s 26 points. Derrick Rose picked up a double-double with 22 points and 12 assists. Carlos Boozer has 16 points and a game-high 16 rebounds, as well.

Outside of Howard it was slow going for the Magic. Gilbert Arenas was the only other player in double figures, scoring 11 points off the bench. Jason Richardson had eight points and seven rebounds. Ryan Anderson and Brandon Bass each had nine points.

Chicago improved to 32-14 on the season and 22-4 at home. The win puts the Bulls 13 games up on Milwaukee in the central division. Orlando fell to 30-17 with the loss, 2.5 games behind the Miami Heat in the Southeast division.