Bobby Portis slammed the basketball against his forehead repeatedly during a break in the fourth quarter.
A picture of frustration? Hardly.
Portis was just messing around during another fun-filled night Wednesday at the United Center as the Bulls easily dispatched the short-handed Magic 112-94.
From 10 straight losses to seven straight victories.
Only Nikola Mirotic could make this up.
“It’s a blast,” center Robin Lopez of current life as Bull. “We’re winning. Guys are playing hard, they’re playing together and they’re willing to play better. It’s a fun combination.”
This absurd run figures to end Thursday in Cleveland, where the Cavaliers 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 night’s romp allowed coach Fred Hoiberg to disperse his minutes. No one logged more than Denzel Valentine’s 29.
“That’s important,” Hoiberg said. “And with the dynamic of our group, playing a lot of different guys, we’re going to have balanced minutes.”
After Hoiberg added that it “will be a juggling act for us” after Zach LaVine returns, at least one media member chuckled.
As recently as early December, this roster looked sickly. Benny the Bull deserved minutes.
Now? Portis, for example, was used for just 14 minutes, 37 seconds and he scored 14 points.
“Us winning is always great,” Portis said. “It’s a different feel.”
The Bulls figured to win considering the Magic played without the injured Aaron Gordon, Evan Fournier and Terrence Ross. Those three not only started the Magic’s season-opener, they combined for 56 points in a victory over the Grizzlies.
The Bulls were favored for just the second time all season and they 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 on 3-pointers) and gathering 10 rebounds with five assists.
“Denzel is a good playmaker, so it’s nice to have Kris (Dunn) and Denzel out there on the floor together,” Hoiberg said.
Valentine and Mirotic (15 rebounds, 10 points) had a blast on back-to-back plays in the third quarter, as the Michigan State alum fed the big man for crowd-pleasing layups.
“Our chemistry is great,” Valentine said. “We have to keep it up.”
After Portis fed Mirotic for a corner 3, the two pointed to one another, enjoying the moment. The Bulls dished out a season-high 31 assists.
“The guys are good job of finding each other,” Hoiberg said. “The ball is not sticking.”
While the Magic lost their sixth straight, the Bulls are enjoying their longest winning streak of Hoiberg’s three-year tenure.
Can they make it eight straight against LeBron & Co.?
“It’s going to be tough,” Hoiberg said. “We’ll get in late, lose some time on a back-to-back. Listen, the biggest thing we need to do is come out with great effort. We’ve been doing that, and it will be essential if we want to stay in the game.”
As for Portis, his forehead looked more than fine after the game.
“Just me hyping myself up,” he explained. “I made a careless turnover, so I was talking to myself.”
Twitter @TeddyGreenstein
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