Coach Billy Donovan was getting a bit concerned with how his players were showing up in third quarters lately, but that was temporarily fixed in Orlando, as the Bulls throttled the Magic. An emotional night for Vucevic, as well.
There would be no slow second-half starts on Friday.
No lethargic moments, no inability to self-motivate.
No Houstons.
On an emotional night in which long-time former Magic man-in-the-middle Nikola Vucevic returned to Orlando to face his former team, he did so with a group of new Bulls teammates focused on rewriting the wrongs of the Wednesday loss to the Rockets.
That meant not only having a halftime lead over the less-talented Magic (4-16), but understanding what it took to come out in the third quarter and step on throats.
The Bulls didn’t do it against the Rockets, and didn’t do it last week in Portland. Enough was enough for coach Billy Donovan.
“We’re all part of the group, so I am responsible as the head coach,’’ Donovan said of trying to right that wrong. “I know they’re grown men, but I’ve got to keep putting it on them that they’ve got to solve that. We can’t be a good team and keep on doing that. That’s focus and concentration.
“I’m a big believer that the best players on the best teams are internally motivated. They’re not externally motivated. They don’t go out there and look at the scoreboard, look out there and someone says something to them and that excites them. There’s got to be internal drive. We have shown signs of doing that, but we haven’t shown signs of doing it consistently enough.’’
Step one came at the Amway Center, as the Bulls rode a 55-46 lead into the locker room, and then came out at the start of the third on an 18-8 run.
Just like that, Orlando went from on the ropes to a standing 8-count, as the boat race was on in the 123-88 Bulls win.
“I thought the guys did a really good job responding,’’ Donovan said of the bounce back. “It was good to see us come out of the locker room to start the second the way we did.’’
Donovan’s team outscored Orlando 35-23 in that third, as well as shooting 61% from the field and holding the Magic to 1-of-6 from three.
Houston feasted on the Bulls from three in that third, and the goal was to make sure there would be no repeat performance.
There wasn’t.
As for Vucevic’s night, the All-Star center was very workmanlike, scoring 16 points on 7-for-13 shooting, as well as grabbing eight boards and handing out three assists.
He spent nine seasons with the Magic, and made sure his entire family was “back home’’ with him for his first return there since being traded last March. He told the Sun-Times on Wednesday there were no hard feelings with his former franchise, especially because of how honest they were throughout the trade talks and the process.
That honesty and transparency carried a lot of weight for Vucevic.
“It was definitely emotional just being back in this building,’’ Vucevic said. “It was a lot to take in. As the game went on I was getting better with it and I was able to get myself a little more together. It was a lot to deal with.
“I still feel like I’m not there 100% [after being out with the coronavirus], but it is what it is at this point, and I just have to continue to work.’’
By the way, the key player the Magic acquired from the Bulls in the trade was Wendell Carter Jr., who just happened to score 26 points and grab 10 rebounds.
“He played great,’’ Vucevic said. “He had a lot to prove too.’’
While the focus of the night was Vucevic, the leading scorers for the Bulls was a very familiar duo. DeMar DeRozan led the Bulls with 23 points, while Zach LaVine chipped in 21.