An Amway Center crowd of 16,489 witnessed just the fourth triple-overtime game in the Magic’s 25-year history. The last time Orlando ventured into triple overtime it was Feb. 27, 1998. This game left Orlando 0-4 in overtime games this season. But this one was unlike any of the others because of the sheer drama produced at nearly every turn by the two teams.
The loss left the hard-luck Magic (10-29) with a nine-game losing streak. Orlando led by 15 in the third quarter and by three points in the final seconds of the first overtime, but they couldn’t put away the Bulls (18-19).
``It’s really tough for us to go to that many overtimes and not pull it out,’’ said Magic forward Tobias Harris, who had 22 points and 16 rebounds in 43 minutes. ``But it just goes to show what coach has been preaching that to win games all of the little things count. Whether it be a missed rebound or a missed free throw or a missed assignment defensively, all of those things add up. So for us, it’s a good learning step, but we also have to know that all of the little things in a game count.’’
Oladipo, Orlando’s prized No. 2 pick from last June’s NBA Draft, played 57 minutes and 11 seconds, falling just short of the franchise record of 58 minutes played by Horace Grant in 1998. In the end, he was more frustrated by his eight turnovers than excited about his 15 of 24 shooting and eight assists.
``I know that I could have taken care of the ball a little better and been more aggressive down the stretch,’’ said Oladipo, who was just one for five in the three overtimes for two points. ``It’s really tough not to win because we came ready to play. Guys played hard and played defense and we just came up short. So back to the drawing board.’’
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