This is getting to be a bit of a bad habit.
In falling 124-108 on the road to the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday night, your Los Angeles Lakers dropped their third consecutive contest, and their fourth in the five games they’ve played since apparently expending a lot of energy to win the NBA’s In-Season
Tournament last week and hang an utterly meaningless banner in the rafters of Crypto.com Arena, between their 17 actual title banners.
lot of energy to win the NBA’s In-Season Tournament last week and hang an utterly meaningless banner in the rafters of Crypto.com Arena, between their 17 actual title banner during the game’s opening quarter, ageless wonder LeBron James got off to a hot start, leading LA to an early lead. But things fell apart quickly for the Lakers, who proved pretty powerless to stop Chicago from getting anything it wanted from distance during an incredibly balanced attack.
The Bulls have looked like a different team since supposed best player Zach LaVine was put on the shelf with “foot inflammation,” going 7-3 in its games this month.
Crisp passing, a refreshing lack of “your-turn, my-turn” meandering ball-dominant offense, and notable improvements in the play of young lottery picks Coby White and Patrick Williams, plus really old center Nikola Vucevic, have been a big part of the turnaround.
But really, everyone has looked better, even a re-engaged DeMar DeRozan, whose 27 points made him the star of the show for Chicago on offense tonight.
Chicago carved out a double-digit lead by the end of the opening quarter, but a push from the Lakers during the second frame (propelled mostly by… Taurean Prince?) reduced the Bulls’ edge to as little as two points midway through that period.
Chicago created a bit more separation, though LA fought valiantly. At the break, the Bulls led by six, 61-55.
Things were pretty even for the opening minutes of the third quarter, and LA once again got within two points a few times, though the Lakers never actually re-took the lead.
After Anthony Davis rolled his ankle on White’s hand midway through the frame, Chicago promptly went on a 14-8 run to close out the quarter.
The Lakers trailed by as many as 18 points during the period.
