Magic Pins Pivotal Loss On Bulls Orlando Comes Of Age, Wins 103-95 For 3-2 Lead; Hulkster Not Needed

When the Orlando Magic lost the home-court advantage in Game 2 here, Shaquille O’Neal was hacked so much that he requested the assistance of wrestler Hulk Hogan. Well, Hogan sat courtside with an O’Neal jersey during Tuesday night’s game, but his assistance was not needed.

That’s because O’Neal and the Magic got all the help they needed from shooting guard Dennis Scott, who in the third quarter helped jump start a stagnant offense and led Orlando to a 103-95 win over the Chicago Bulls before a sellout crowd off 16,010 at the Orlando Arena.

The Magic called the game the biggest in franchise history beforehand, and played up to the challenge in overcoming a seven-point halftime deficit in taking a 3-2 advantage in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal series.

“We’re going in for the kill,” said Horace Grant, who led Orlando with 24 points. The series resumes Thursday.

Scott scored nine points in the third quarter, when Orlando outscored Chicago 35-20. His perimeter shooting helped open up the inside game, and helped the Magic move within one win of advancing to the Eastern Conference finals. “I felt this was a gut check for us,” said Orlando coach Brian Hill. “I was very happy with the way they responded in the third and fourth quarters.”

Michael Jordan scored 39 points to lead the Bulls. But in this series, as Toni Kukoc goes, so goes the Bulls. Tuesday night Kukoc scored five points. It didn’t help Chicago that Scottie Pippen also vanished, scoring just 10 points on 4-for-13 shooting.

“Even though we played like horse manure, we were still only down by seven,” O’Neal said, referring to Orlando’s first half. “That’s what good about a good team. If the main guys aren’t going, others pick up the slack.”