Magic beat Bulls 98-91

ORLANDO, Fla. – Elfrid Payton had 22 points, 14 assists and 14 rebounds for his second straight triple-double, and the Orlando Magic rallied to beat the Chicago Bulls 98-91 on Wednesday.

Evan Fournier added 20 points to help Orlando erase a 13-point, second-half deficit and snap a two-game losing streak. Jimmy Butler scored 21 points for Chicago. The Bulls have lost three straight.

Man critically injured in Washington Park crash

Sun-Times Wire
A man was critically injured in a crash early Wednesday in the Washington Park neighborhood on the South Side.

The 31-year-old was driving at 12:14 a.m. in the 5800 block of South Michigan when his vehicle struck several other vehicles, according to Chicago Police.

He suffered a head injury and was taken in critical condition to Stroger Hospital, police said. No other injuries were reported.

Additional details were not immediately available early Wednesday.

Pistons beat Bulls 109-95

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. – Reggie Jackson scored 24 of his 26 points in the second half, and the Detroit Pistons pulled away down the stretch for a victory over the Chicago Bulls, 109-95.

The Pistons climbed into a tie for the No. 7 spot in the Eastern Conference with the Bulls, who were playing without injured Dwyane Wade and Rajon Rondo.

Jackson’s performance has been spotty this season, and at times backup Ish Smith has seemed like a better option late in games. But Jackson was instrumental in helping the Pistons take control in a game Monday that was tied at 79 after three quarters.

Detroit started the fourth with a 12-3 run and held Chicago to 16 points in the quarter. A hanging jumper by Jackson from near the elbow turned into a three-point play when he was fouled, and that gave the Pistons a 102-88 lead with 3:13 to play.

Jimmy Butler scored 27 points for Chicago.

Two men wounded in East Garfield Park shooting

Sun-Times Wire

Two men were wounded in an East Garfield Park neighborhood shooting early Monday on the West Side.

The men, ages 27 and 30, were driving north about 2 a.m. in the 400 block of North Sacramento when a black vehicle pulled alongside and someone inside fired shots, according to Chicago Police.

The younger man was shot in the forehead and the older man suffered a graze wound to the left shoulder, police said. They drove to Norwegian American Hospital, where both of their conditions were stabilized.

Blackhawks beat Islanders 2-1 in SO

CHICAGO (AP) — Artemi Panarin scored with 1:14 left in regulation and then had the clinching goal in the shootout, helping the Chicago Blackhawks beat the New York Islanders 2-1 on Friday night for their sixth consecutive victory.

Jonathan Toews also scored in the tiebreaker as Chicago pulled within one point of idle Minnesota for the top spot in the Western Conference. Corey Crawford made 31 saves in his first start since Feb. 23.

After Toews beat Thomas Greiss with a wrist shot, Crawford turned away Joshua Ho-Sang. Patrick Kane was stopped by Greiss and Nikolay Kulemin shot it off the right post before Panarin finished off the victory for the Blackhawks.

Greiss made 30 stops for New York, and Brock Nelson scored his 14th goal in the second. The Islanders had won four of five, including a 5-4 victory at Dallas on Thursday night.

Bulls beat warriors 94-87

CHICAGO (AP) Jimmy Butler scored 22 points and the Chicago Bulls beat Golden State 94-87 on Thursday night in the Warriors’ first game since Kevin Durant injured his left leg.

Golden State was breathing a little easier after learning Durant probably will play again this season. He was hurt two nights earlier in a loss at Washington.

The NBA-leading Warriors’ league-record regular-season streak without consecutive losses ended at 146 games.

Stephen Curry scored 23 points, and Klay Thompson finished with 13. The star guards combined to shoot just 3 of 22 on 3-pointers, and the Warriors made it back-to-back losses for the first time since April 2015.

Bobby Portis added 17 points and a season-high 13 rebounds for Chicago. The Bulls outscored Golden State 10-2 over the final three minutes to wipe out a one-point deficit and come away with their fifth win in six games.

Blackhawks beat Penguins 4-1

CHICAGO (AP) Patrick Kane had his second hat trick in three games, Scott Darling made 36 saves and the Chicago Blackhawks beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-1 on Wednesday night for their fifth straight victory and 10th in 11 games.

Richard Panik also scored to help Chicago pull within three points of first-place Minnesota in the Central Division and Western Conference. Kane, last season’s MVP, has a team-leading 27 goals – scoring 12 times and adding seven assists in his last 11 games.

Scott Wilson scored for Pittsburgh as the Penguins fell short again after a 3-2 loss at Dallas on Tuesday night. It was the first meeting this season between the last two Stanley Cup winners.

Darling started a second straight game in place of Corey Crawford, the No. 1 goalie who has been fighting an illness. Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 25 shots for Pittsburgh in his first start in two weeks.