The talk was of numbers here Wednesday night, when someone stole Michael Jordan`s uniform jersey and he had to wear No. 12 instead of his usual No. 23. It didn`t affect Jordan, who scored 49 points, a Bulls record for players wearing that number.

But the big number turned out to be the one the Orlando Magic did on the Bulls, winning in overtime 135-129 and, at least here, making it clear they have the Bulls` number.

''There are no excuses,'' said a disgusted Bulls coach Phil Jackson, who watched the Bulls interior defense again show the stopping power of Jell-O.

''It was horrible, and I have no idea what`s going on. We`ve got to go back and look at tape to try to understand what`s going on.''

Any trip to the videotape is going to show Terry Catledge banging inside for 34 points and 11 rebounds and Sidney Green grabbing 19 rebounds, which makes it 36 rebounds (and 56 points) for opposing centers the last two nights. ''We`ve got to make an honest evaluation of how strong we are,'' added Jackson.

They`re not particularly strong, if they`re examining this six-game trip, during which the Bulls lost five of six (winning only against 10-40 Miami) and saw their record fall to 29-20.

This marked the Bulls` second straight loss to the Magic in Orlando, the Bulls losing by a point in December when Jordan`s 52 were not enough.

''It`s very discouraging,'' said Jordan, who hit 21 of 43 shots in 47 minutes on the floor. ''These are games we`re supposed to win if we`re going to be a good team. I thought we were supposed to be a stronger team inside. We`re going to see now if we are.''

The Bulls have a chance to begin producing again with a long homestand coming up.

But they also expected to be coming home with a two-game winning streak with games against two expansion teams after the All-Star break. And it appeared they would when they had an 11-point lead with 9 minutes left.

But the Bulls missed their last five shots of regulation and the first four of overtime.

''I think Michael did run out of gas at the end,'' said Jackson. ''But we don`t seem to be able to build on leads and apply that killer instinct.''

Otherwise, the Bulls probably would have disposed of the Magic late in the third quarter when they had a five-point play courtesy of an Ed Nealy jumper and three technical fouls against the Magic, two on coach Matt Goukas, resulting in the first ejection of his career.

That put the Bulls ahead 82-68 with 4 minutes left in the third quarter.

Up until that point, the Bulls had been having a relatively easy time of it after falling behind by 11 in the first quarter.

They moved ahead with an 8-1 start of the second quarter and then led 60-52 at halftime as Jordan scored 25 points. The Bulls got a big lift off the bench from Nealy and Stacey King, who grabbed nine rebounds. Orlando`s starting lineup outrebounded the Bulls` starting five 23-10.

The Bulls then took a 93-82 lead after three quarters and seemed to have the game comfortably in hand when Bill Cartwright, who finished with 15 points and 9 rebounds, and Scottie Pippen-who had 15 points despite 6-for-21 shooting while suffering from a ''turf toe''-grabbed three straight offensive rebounds for two baskets. Pippen also stole a pass leading to a John Paxson three-point goal.

That put the Bulls up seven with 4:33 left, but Reggie Theus, who had 28 points and 8 assists, hit a jumper and Otis Smith scored inside on a reverse layup.

Scott Skiles started the overtime with a three-pointer, Catledge added a free throw, Theus a jumper and Catledge two free throws before the Bulls could score, effectively putting them out of the game. Orlando shot 65 percent in the second half.

''We have got to get a quality effort from all 12 guys,'' said Jordan,

''like we played in Miami. But just because I scored 49 points doesn`t mean we should have won. We should have had a better effort from some other people, and we should have been a much stronger defensive team.''

Which is right on the numbers.