Coby White doesn’t dunk often. But when he does, it makes a statement.

It wasn’t hard to translate the message White was trying to send the host Orlando Magic on Thursday evening as he slammed the ball through the rim to cut the Chicago Bulls’ deficit to one with 2 minutes, 42 seconds remaining. But just in case it wasn’t clear, White followed with a 3-pointer to put the Bulls ahead and give the Magic one final warning: S tay down.

White scored 17 of his career-high 44 points in the fourth quarter, rallying the Bulls to a 125-123 road win and dealing the Magic their fifth straight loss. He shot 16-for-28 overall, including 7-for-15 from 3-point range, and scored the Bulls’ last nine points.

White’s heroics almost weren’t enough. The Bulls trailed by nine points after both of their centers fouled out in the final 10 minutes of a game that featured 18 lead changes and 10 ties. But White willed the Bulls through every possession in clutch time, tapping away a pass on the final Magic possession to burn a few seconds and force a desperate 3-point attempt from Paolo Banchero.

The victory could serve as a preview of the NBA Play-In Tournament as both teams appear to be on a collision course for the postseason. At 25-38, the Bulls are in 10th place in the Eastern Conference and extended their lead over the 11th-place Brooklyn Nets and Philadelphia 76ers to 3½ games with 19 remaining.

Here are four takeaways from the win.

1. Up-tempo offense disrupted Magic defense

The Magic defense is one of the best in the league — they boast the top defensive rating (109.2) in the East while averaging the second-most blocks (6.1) and the seventh-highest volume of steals (8.9) in the league. Even with crucial defenders such as Jalen Suggs missing Thursday, it provided a staunch test for a Bulls offense struggling to maintain its momentum since the trade of Zach LaVine.

But the Bulls found a formula for breaking down this defense — setting a breakneck pace. They scored 25 points on the fast break as young wings Dalen Terry and Julian Phillips stretched the court in transition. Even in clutch time, coach Billy Donovan emphatically encouraged the Bulls to push their tempo to prevent the Magic from setting up their defense.

The offense still showed signs of stalling out when the Bulls found themselves stuck in their half-court offense. But when they stayed on the move, the Bulls effectively prevented rim protectors from finding their spots around the basket, giving White and Tre Jones (20 pts, four assists) opportunities to beat the Magic’s length to the rim.

2. Bulls regain touch from 3-point range

White wasn’t the only Bulls player who heated up in Orlando. The win offered relief from a recent dry spell from behind the arc.

The Bulls have relied heavily on their 3-point shooting this season to maintain an up-tempo, gunslinging style of play. But since losing LaVine, the offense has struggled to maintain long-range consistency.

Since LaVine’s final game with the Bulls on Jan. 27, they slumped to 34.7% 3-point shooting — 20th in the NBA. It’s a dramatic drop-off from their start to the season, when they shot 37.2%, ninth-best in the league.

Volume hasn’t changed for the Bulls, who are still taking the second-most 3-point attempts in the league. But without LaVine’s high-efficiency shooting, they have become below average from deep. On Thursday, the Bulls shot 15-for-40 (37.5%), outpacing the Magic (9-for-33, 27.3%) in volume and accuracy.

3. Magic exposed the Bulls from inside the arc

The Bulls may have found a few options for their offense, but they offered little resistance on the other end of the court — especially in the paint. The Magic sliced the Bulls’ interior defense apart with cuts, scoring 54 points inside the paint. Every shift and rotation was a step slow for the Bulls, who couldn’t get bodies into the path of Banchero or Franz Wagner (18 points).

Zach Collins and Jalen Smith had racked up three fouls apiece by halftime, giving the Bulls considerable concerns due to their lack of backup options in the frontcourt. Collins fouled out with 9:44 remaining. Smith fouled out barely 90 seconds later, picking up a technical foul on his way off the court that resulted in his ejection.

Without a center left on the bench, the Bulls relied on rookie Matas Buzelis to anchor a matchup-zone defense for the remainder of the game. Buzelis stepped up to the challenge, tallying two blocks in the fourth quarter and forcing a jump ball with 2:27 remaining to end a Magic offensive possession.

And despite their early struggles defending the rim, the Bulls held the Magic scoreless for the final 1:43 to sneak away with the win.

4. Josh Giddey returned, but injuries linger

The guard returned to the Bulls starting lineup after missing one game with a quad injury. He finished with 19 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists.

But the Bulls are still missing a significant portion of their core rotation, including guard Ayo Dosunmu, who underwent successful surgery Wednesday to treat a left shoulder fracture that was causing dislocation.

Lonzo Ball (wrist) and Nikola Vučević (calf) both sat out. Vučević traveled with the team to Florida for the two-game trip, and the team hopes he will be able to make his return Saturday against the Miami Heat.

Patrick Williams (knee) was also inactive, although he was upgraded to questionable. Similar to Vučević, Williams spent the week ramping up his activity with the expectation he will return in the next week.

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