Lebron, Lakers Hold Off the Bulls in Win
Lebron, Lakers Hold Off the Bulls in Win (Los Angeles, CA) – After dropping a winnable game against the Kings, the Bulls (4-5) aimed to earn their trademark win of the season against the Lakers (6-3) Friday night.
The Bulls have lost six games in a row to the defending NBA champions, dating back to November of 2016. Chicago native Anthony Davis did not play in this game for the Lakers. Still, the Lakers still have an all-time great in Lebron James. Slowing down Lebron would have increased the likelihood of the Bulls pulling off the upset.
Back Court Leads Bulls in Competitive 1st half
Zach Lavine led the Bulls in the first quarter, as he had 19 points on 8/8 shooting. Chicago also outscored the Lakers 24-12 in the paint, leading to a 33-28 advantage going into the 2nd period.
Coby White did not score in the first quarter. Despite this, he scored the team’s first 10 points in the 2nd to propel them to a 43-33 lead with 9.5 minutes left. From that point forward, the Lakers went on a 26-15 run to give them a 59-58 lead going into halftime.
Matthews Gets Hot to Maintain Lakers Lead
The Bulls got off to a great 2nd half start. They started the 2nd half with a 7-0 run in the first minute to lead 65-59. The Lakers continued to hang with the Bulls. They regained the lead at 83-77 behind a 12-0 run, with 4.5 minutes left in the quarter.
In his first start of the year, Wesley Matthews hit four three-pointers in the 3rd to give the Lakers a 92-88 lead going into the 4th. Wendell Carter Jr led the Bulls in the 3rd, scoring 12 of his 23 points in the period.
Bulls Come Up Short, Lakers Win
Chicago started off the 4th quarter slow, as they missed 6 of their first 7 shots. This allowed LA to jump out to their first double-digit lead of the game at 102-90, behind a Lebron “and-one” with 8 minutes left. The Bulls retaliated with a 7-0 run to put them back within striking distance, at 102-97 with 7 minutes left.
This game went down to the wire. Garrett Temple hit a three with 37 seconds left, which brought the Bulls within one point at 116-115. Lavine had a chance to win the game for the Bulls, but missed a jumper with 5 seconds left. The Lakers won 117-115.
Lebron led the Lakers as he scored 20+ points against the Bulls for the 50th time of his career. He had 28 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists.
Lavine led the Bulls with 38 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists.
Up Next
The Lakers (7-3) will play James Harden and the Rockets (3-4) in their next game on Sunday at 6pm CT.
Chicago (4-6) will hope to close out their road trip with a win Sunday against the Clippers (6-4) at 3pm CT.
Lebron, Lakers Hold Off the Bulls in Win
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