Friday showed why Bulls big man Lauri Markkanen needs more than six shots in a game.
Even if they’re not falling early, they eventually will. And they did.
After a slow start in which he missed six of his seven shots in the first quarter, including two that were blocked and another that missed everything, Markkanen stayed with it, got red-hot and scored 32 points to lead the Bulls to a 90-80 victory against the Magic at the United Center.
It was a huge victory for coach Jim Boylen, who implored Markkanen’s teammates to get him the ball after he took only six shots in a loss Wednesday to the Nets.
They did exactly what Boylen wanted them to do. Markkanen didn’t force anything and scored from all over the court, including a fadeaway jumper in the lane that clinched the victory in the final minute. The Bulls had 23 assists and only seven turnovers.
‘‘I just think he was aggressive,’’ Boylen said. ‘‘We tried to move him around a little bit, get him to spots. He’s a great kid. He’s coachable. He wants to do the right thing. He’s only been back eight games [from a sprained elbow]. It’s going to be a process.
‘‘He’s still a young player, but he was competitive and aggressive. And when you’re that big and that skilled and you do that, you have a chance to have a great game, and he did. I’m really proud of him.’’
After the 1-for-7 start, Markkanen made eight consecutive shots — including four three-pointers — and made 11 of 13 shots in the final three quarters to finish 12-for-20.
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‘‘I just tried to say confident,’’ Markkanen said. ‘‘I know I missed my first [shots]. But that’s what Coach told me to do — stay aggressive. I know my shot’s going to start falling.’’
As much as Markkanen needed to have a short memory, he also had a long one. In the third quarter, he drove the lane and dunked on Magic center Nikola Vucevic. It was payback for a first-quarter block, and he punctuated it by staring down Vucevic to earn a technical foul.
‘‘I don’t know why I got a technical, but that’s how it goes,’’ Markkanen said. ‘‘I don’t think I [deserved it]. I just tried to stay aggressive. I know he blocked my first attempt, so I tried to get him back.’’
Robin Lopez added 14 points, Kris Dunn 12 points and eight rebounds, Justin Holiday 11 points and 10 rebounds and rookie Wendell Carter 10 points and eight rebounds for the Bulls. Ryan Arcidiacono had eight assists with no turnovers.
‘‘I’m really just proud of our guys,’’ Boylen said. ‘‘I thought we played hard. We’re starting to want to play for each other and share it. I’m thankful for the win, and we’re going to keep trying to get better.’’
Boylen praised the leadership of Dunn, who was 4-for-14 from the field but had seven assists to only two turnovers.
‘‘Kris Dunn, I thought, had unbelievable poise in the pocket,’’ Boylen said. ‘‘He had command of what I want. And we had great synergy.
‘‘Man, I felt like I had a captain out there, a leader out there with him. And I’m really happy for that. That’s something we’ve been talking about and working on.’’
