Wednesday’s game against the Orlando Magic featured yet another comeback effort by the Chicago Bulls that fell short. It’s been the story of the Bulls’ season so far.

Never Enough

Chicago went into halftime down 50-33 after getting just seven points from Zach LaVine through two quarters. The Bulls were at a disadvantage without DeMar DeRozan, who missed the game due to a personal matter. That made the fight difficult, especially against an athletic team like the Magic.

Cole Anthony led the Magic with 14 points at the half, but it certainly felt like a lot more. Orlando had the big lead despite shooting 36% from the floor and only making two of its 16 three-point attempts.

After a horrendous half, the Bulls shot much better down the stretch but it took them a bit to get back in the game. Alex Caruso and Torrey Craig made big contributions as the duo combined for 15 points in the third quarter, which Bulls ended on a 7-0 run to cut the deficit to just nine points.

The fourth quarter featured back-and-forth action with both teams hitting shots up until four minutes remaining. After Goga Bitadze hit his first of two free throws to extend the Magic lead to nine, Nikola Vucevic hit a jump shot to make it a seven-point game. Vucevic and Caruso kept Chicago in the game as the score stood at 92-88 with less than a minute to go before LaVine had his big moments.