CHICAGO _ Bobby Portis grabbed the basketball and slammed it against his forehead repeatedly in the fourth quarter.
A picture of frustration? Hardly.
Portis was just messing around on another fun-filled night at the United Center. The Bulls dispatched the short-handed Magic with ease on Wednesday, 112-94.
From 10 straight losses to seven straight wins.
Only Nikola Mirotic could make this up.
This absurd run figures to end Thursday night in Cleveland, where the Cavs are 13-4. But don't make any assumptions, not after the Bulls tricked everyone with that early-season tank job.
And as an added bonus, the Bulls should have fresh legs heading into Quicken Loans Arena. Wednesday's romp allowed coach Fred Hoiberg to disperse his minutes. No one logged more than Denzel Valentine's 29.
The Bulls figured to win Wednesday considering the Magic played without the injured Aaron Gordon, Evan Fournier and Terrence Ross. Those three not only started Orlando's season opener, they combined for 56 points in a victory over the Grizzlies.
Chicago was favored for just the second time all season, and the Bulls sizzled from the outset, scoring the game's first 12 points. They never trailed.
They won with a quintessential well-balanced attack.
Valentine had the prettiest box score, scoring 16 points on just nine field-goal tries (3 for 4 from deep) and tallying 10 rebounds and five assists.
He and Mirotic (15 rebounds, 10 points) had a blast on back-to-back plays in the third quarter, as Valentine fed the big man for crowd-pleasing layups.
"Our chemistry is great," Valentine said. "We have to keep it up."
Kris Dunn also scored 15, and Bobby Portis had 14.
Portis fed Mirotic for a corner 3, and the two pointed to one another, enjoying the moment.
The Magic lost their sixth straight.
