New FSM Essential Recap: Lakers vs Bulls – Game 15
Los Angeles Lakers (8-7) | Chicago Bulls (10-4)
Another awful third quarter doomed the Los Angeles Lakers as they suffered defeat at the hands of the Chicago Bulls 121-103.
Before the game began, the Lakers aired a tribute video to their former teammate and current member of the Bulls, Alex Caruso. Caruso was part of Los Angeles’s record-tying 17th championship victory in the 2019-2020 season that finished in the Disney World bubble.
The teams began the quarter keeping the game within each other’s reach for the first five minutes until DeMar DeRozan untied the game from 11 apiece by hitting a three-pointer. The Bulls began to pull away early on, as Derrick Jones Jr.scored points on back-to-back possessions to increase the lead to eight for Chicago. With 2:38 left in the quarter, Jones Jr. was back in the paint, increasing the lead to 10.
Zach LaVine drove to a layup two possessions later to make it a 12 point lead, which would be the final points for the Bulls in the first quarter. Russell Westbrook and Anthony Davis scored baskets in the quarter’s last minute, as the Bulls went into the second quarter with a 33-25 lead.
The second quarter got off to a better start for the Lakers as they cut the deficit to four after two and a half minutes, thanks to a Talen Horton-Tucker jumper. Two minutes later, DeRozan hit a three-pointer to rebuild a seven-point lead. After two Westbrook free throws cut the deficit back to five, the Bulls began to pull away once more.
With 5:29 left in the half, LaVine hit a three that sparked a scoring run that ballooned the Bulls’ lead to 15 before Horton-Tucker stopped the bleeding with a three of his own. Los Angeles scored eight straight points to cut the margin to seven, but the Bulls maintained the gap with another three from LaVine. DeRozan followed up with a jump shot to increase the lead to 11, while two Davis free throws ended the scoring for the half.
After one half, the Lakers went to the locker room trailing 57-48.
As the second half opened up, Carmelo Anthony hit a layup to start the scoring, but it was answered by Tony Bradley, who hit a layup of his own. Davis and Anthony brought the game back to a six-point margin, but DeRozan scored four straight points to build the lead back to 10. Former Laker Lonzo Ball hit a three on the next possession, followed by a LaVine mid-range jumper to give the Bulls another 15 point lead.
Five minutes in, after Los Angeles hit three free throws, Ball hit another three off of Caruso, followed by a dunk from LaVine, extending the lead to 17. The Bulls answered each Lakers successful basket throughout the quarter until the deficit swelled to 20 with 2:30 left in the frame.
The game’s momentum remained locked in Chicago’s favor, but the official turning point of the game occurred on a Davis turnover with 2:20 left in the quarter. As Davis put his shoe back on, the play started without him, and he shouted in the referee’s direction. He was immediately ejected from the game even though it was his first technical foul. Davis’ second career ejection led to the Bulls building a 94-73 lead after three quarters.
The Lakers would now have to venture on without Davis for the rest of the game.
Dwight Howard, who entered for Davis, threw a dunk down, followed by an Anthony jumper. Forty seconds later, Horton-Tucker slammed one home to bring the deficit back down to 15. However, the momentum stopped dead in its tracks as Ball scored five straight points and hit a three just under a minute later. Horton-Tucker and LaVine traded threes until Ball made it a 26 point lead for the Bulls with his fourth three of the night.
The Lakers brought the bench out, as did the Bulls, with the lead still at 26 with four minutes remaining. Troy Brown Jr. hit his only basket of the game for Chicago while DeAndre Jordan slammed a lob from Malik Monk. The Bulls gave a little of the lead back, but time worked in their favor as Chicago blew out Los Angeles by a final score of 121-103.
The Lakers saw another rough night for most of the supporting cast, as just three players scored in double figures, led by Horton-Tucker with 28 points. Westbrook scored 25 points, while Davis ended up with 20 points after his ejection.
The Bulls finished with four players scoring in double figures and the hotter hands in this contest. DeRozan had a game-high 38 points in 35 minutes, while Ball had one of the best games of his career with 27 points and seven threes. LaVine added 26 points while Jones Jr. scored 13 points off the bench on a near-perfect shooting night.
The Lakers’ next game will begin a five-game road trip, starting in Milwaukee on Wednesday to take on the NBA Champion Bucks. The game will begin at 4:30 and can be seen on ESPN and Spectrum SportsNet.
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– Matt Dobbs – Franchise Sports Media
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