ORLANDO – Nikola Vucevic prowled quietly behind the target. Not easy for a 6-foot-10, 260-pounder, but with water bottle in hand he had come up on his prey.
Just like that the Bulls big man squeezed the icy liquid on the back and head of Coby White as he was waiting to do a post-game interview, even with the guard trying to duck out of the way to no avail.
Someone had to cool off White on Thursday, because it sure wasn’t going to be any member of the Orlando Magic.
Thanks to White’s season-high 44 points, the Bulls came back from a nine-point, fourth-quarter deficit, and did so without bigs Jalen Smith and Zach Collins, who each fouled out. White’s heroics, including 17 of those points coming in the fourth, led to the 125-123 Bulls win.
“I just wanted to take what was ever given to me,” White said. “They didn’t want me to get off any threes so they were kind of pressing up on me. The coaching staff did a helluva job putting all of us in position where we could also succeed. I give credit to my teammates for trusting in me.”
What’s there not to trust?
White had it going on from outside, evident by the 7-of-15 shooting from deep, but also kept the Magic on their heels with his attack of the rim.
Then there were two non-scoring plays in the fourth in which White first saved a ball that was going into the stands with an impressive jump-pass, and even on the last possession the Magic had to try and tie the game it was White that disrupted the timing with a deflection on the perimeter.
Orlando’s Paolo Banchero did have a chance to play hero with the game-winning three, but it missed with 2.1 seconds left. Former Bull Wendell Carter Jr. grabbed the rebound and slammed it home, but the horn had sounded.
“He was in the game,” coach Billy Donovan said of White’s night. “Besides the scoring part of it, the leadership, the voice was great. Even when we would get a little frustrated, because it was a very physical game, (White) just kept messaging the guys, ‘Just focus on what we can control.’ Even just coming down the stretch, I thought he was a great calming force for our guys and just stayed in it.”
Calm the Bulls (25-38) desperately needed.
Right from the opening tip it was pretty clear it was going to be a bumps and bruises night. Unfortunately for the Bulls, they weren’t up to the task in the physicality department early on.
That changed in the second half in a big way, especially when Collins fouled out with 9:44 left in the game and then Smith was ejected after picking up his sixth foul at the 8:11 mark.
That meant Donovan turning to the slender frames of Julian Phillips and rookie Matas Buzelis to grow up quickly in what resembled a UFC octagon rather than the paint at times.
“They got a lot of big dudes so we just had to turn up the physicality,” Matas said. “Me and Julian I think did a good job of just going out there and playing hard. It was definitely one of the most physical games I’ve played in for sure.”
That’s why Donovan was throwing everything at the Magic defensively, including a 2-3 zone, a box-and-one, and then straight up man.
All of it was on display after White scored to put the Bulls up two with 1:28 left. Neither team would score again in the battle of wills.
“They always play physical so it’s always a war when you play against them,” White added. “They’ve got physical guys over there, they try to impose their will. Two teams that haven’t been playing as well as they liked, so both teams needed a win. That’s how both teams played.”