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Magic Lose to Bulls in Brutal Fashion With Tardy Putback Dunk at Final Buzzer

A big missed opportunity for the slumping Magic.

Tom Dierberger

Bulls forward Matas Buzelis celebrates beating the Magic after the final buzzer at Kia Center.
Bulls forward Matas Buzelis celebrates beating the Magic after the final buzzer at Kia Center. / Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
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The Orlando Magic lost 125–123 to the Chicago Bulls in heartbreaking fashion Thursday night at Kia Center.

Trailing by two points in the closing seconds, Magic star Paolo Banchero flicked up a potential game-winning three-pointer but missed. Wendell Carter Jr. was waiting underneath the rim for the rebound and slammed it home—but it was too late. The buzzer sounded before Carter could get the dunk off.

It was a tough look for Carter, who probably could've just tipped the basketball in the hoop off the miss instead of coming down with the ball and dunking it. When the ball touched Carter's hands for the first time, there was 1.1 seconds remaining—plenty of time for a putback.

The Magic now have lost five straight games to drop to 29–35 on the season, good for ninth place in the Eastern Conference.

"The message at the end was we've got to fight our way out of this funk," Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said after the loss [via Orlando Sentinel's Jason Beede]. "It's exactly what it is, it's a funk, and we've got to fight our way out of it. So, our ability to go on the road, regoup, reset our mind and what we need to do and bank together on the road and continue to fight. Because in this league, it can turn fast one way or the other, and I think our guys will understand exactly what we need to do in order to turn that."

Aside from his tardy putback dunk, it was a solid night for Carter, who scored 17 points on 5-of-9 shooting and grabbed five rebounds.

Orlando will try to turn things around Saturday when it begins a five-game road trip with a matchup against the Milwaukee Bucks at Fiserv Forum.

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Tom Dierberger
TOM DIERBERGER

Tom Dierberger is a staff writer and editor on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He joined SI in November 2023 after stints at FOX Sports, Bally Sports and NBC Sports. Dierberger has a bachelor's in communication from St. John's University. In his spare time, he can be seen throwing out his arm while playing fetch with his dog, Walter B. Boy.

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