The Lakers push their win streak to four with a 142-130 win over the Chicago Bulls on Thursday night. They now have sole possession of the 3rd seed in the Western Conference.
The game began with LA scoring seven in a row. Austin Reaves put the first points on the board with a triple. He also picked up a steal and a block. LeBron James was the only starter not to score yet in the quarter.
Matas Buzelis converted on a layup to give the Bulls their first points of the night.
Rui Hachimura put up five points
and was shooting 100% from behind the arc. Luka Dončić began to surge, draining two 3-pointers. Buzelis was leading Chicago with seven points.
At the 3:05 mark, the Lakers were up by six.
Luka entered double figures with 12 points. He was also a rebounding machine, grabbing seven. Chicago then went on a 9-0 scoring run to make it a tied game at the end of the first.
The second period began just as the first did, with a triple by Reaves. The Bulls responded with five straight points. Deandre Ayton then scored four in a row to put the Lakers up by two early. LeBron James had a slow start for Los Angeles, taking only two shots, both of which he missed.
Buzelis put Chicago back in the lead with a 3-pointer.
LA was shooting 41% from the field, while the Bulls were shooting a hot 87%. Ayton, Reaves, and Luka were the first Lakers in double figures with 12, 10, and 17, respectively.
Buzelis and Luka had some friendly chatter amongst themselves, leading to Luka pushing his point total to 20.
At the 4:04 mark, the purple and gold were down by four. Los Angeles went on a 9-2 scoring run to retake the lead. LeBron finally put some points on the board, converting on a three-point play with 54 seconds left in the half.
The Lakers had four of their five starters in double figures entering halftime, leading by six.
LeBron started the second half with an emphatic dunk, and it was followed by a Bulls turnover that turned into a 3-pointer from Luka on the other end. Chicago called a quick timeout. Out of the break, Buzelis was fouled and converted on both free throws.
The Lakers erupted for a 14-2 scoring run that expanded their lead to 18.
Hachimura drained his third triple of the night. He was shooting a red-hot 74% from behind the arc. Luka notched two more 3-pointers, marking seven for the game so far out of 11 attempts. LeBron eventually entered double figures with 11 points.
At the 4:55 mark, the lead was 21 for Los Angeles.
Chicago cut the deficit to 14 after they went on a 9-2 run. Josh Giddey was up to 15 points for the Bulls and was four for six from behind the arc. At the end of the third, the Lakers were up by 10, after they had once led by 22.
LeBron started the final frame with a midrange jumper. On the other end, Nick Richards completed a three-point play. Luke Kennard finally got a triple to fall after four attempts. At the 8:45 mark, LA was up by single digits.
Reaves then scored a quick five in a row to push the lead back to double digits.
With six minutes left, Los Angeles continued to have a good lead, led by the efforts of Reaves, who was up to nine points in the quarter, and Ayton, who was up to six. Luka swished two 3-pointers in a row.
With 3:19 left, the Bulls were down by 17.
Chicago tried a small comeback, but failed after Luka converted on two free throws for his 50th and 51st points.
Key Player Stats
Luka finished with 51 points,10 rebounds, nine assists and three steals. Reaves ended with 30 points, five rebounds and seven assists. LeBron scored 18 points with seven rebounds, seven assists and two steals.
Ayton had another dominant game, scoring 23 points with 10 rebounds. Hachimura notched 15 points in 40 minutes.
The Lakers’ next matchup will be against the Denver Nuggets on Saturday at 5:30 PM PT.
You can follow Karin on Twitter at @KarinAbcarians.
