Wednesday night marked the beginning of a difficult three-game road journey for the Los Angeles Lakers, as they hosted the Chicago Bulls.
Gabe Vincent’s return from a knee injury put the Lakers at full vigor for the first time all season, but that did not matter as they still fell behind 124-108.
In recent weeks, point guard Coby White has elevated his performance in the Lakers’ absence of the injured Zach LaVine. He continued this trend early in this contest by nailing a midrange bank that opened the scoring before LeBron James converted a layup for the Lakers.
James was in dominant form early on, burying a triple and then a thunderous dunk to give the Lakers a 9-4 lead and compel the Bulls to call timeouts.
However, Chicago responded well to the timeout, as White and Alex Caruso each made two-pointers and triples to spark a 10-0 run that was capped by Anthony Davis.
In contrast, the Lakers remained lackluster and the Bulls were on a tear, which gave Chicago its first double-digit lead.
With three minutes remaining in the first quarter, Vincent checked in for the first time and immediately made an impact with an assist. However, the Lakers encountered subsequent setbacks as they trailed 33-22 entering the second period.
The Bulls continued to exert pressure in the second period, as Javon Carter extended the lead to 15 with consecutive triples.
Ultimately, James restored some hope to the Lakers with a 13-0 run that included triples by Cam Reddish and Prince, but the Lakers still had a substantial amount of work to do.
The Bulls consistently failed to close the gap at the 3-point line with Prince, and he once again punished them by supplying the Lakers with an essential offensive force.
Los Angeles reduced its deficit to two points before Chicago closed out the quarter on a run to claim a 61-55 halftime lead.
With consecutive and-ones in the third quarter for the Lakers, Davis and James came out strong. However, the momentum was abruptly halted when Davis rolled his ankle and was subsequently substituted out, thereby providing the Bulls with an opportunity to regain the lead.
Although the Lakers committed some foolish errors, Rui Hachimura’s powerful three-pointer with the clock ticking down to 90-78 entering the fourth period kept them within 12 points.
Davis was able to make his return at the beginning of the fourth quarter despite appearing to be severely hindered by the ankle injury. Although James and Reaves were contributing to the Bulls’ offensive efforts to keep the game within reach, they were unable to halt the high rate of outside shot failures.
As has been the case frequently in the past, DeRozan dominated his alma mater with a variety of midrange baskets, while role players for the Bulls also made deep contributions.
The Lakers attempted to rally but were unable to muster sufficient discipline to reclaim the game, ultimately succumbing to another disheartening defeat.