NBA
Lakers take Bulls beating: A night to forget for Doncic, LeBron James and Co.
Despite heading into the game with a roster boosted by the return of injured stars, the Los Angeles Lakers were comprehensively beaten by the Chicago Bulls.
On a day when things had appeared to be looking up for the Los Angeles Lakers, the 17-time champions endured a game to forget. J.J. Redick’s men now need to turn the page and get back into their stride as quickly as possible, because there are only 12 regular season games left in the NBA regular season - and it’s not a good time for things to get any further off track. Too many games have been lost in a brutal past two weeks that have seen the Lakers play no fewer than nine times in 15 days.
The first of these was in Boston, on the day LeBron James injured his groin. ‘The King’ returned to action today, with Rui Hachimura also making his comeback after 12 games out. The Lakers were healthier than ever - but that’s not the same as being rested. And the Chicago Bulls demonstrated this convincingly, by overwhelming an exhausted opponent 115-146 at Crypto.com Arena.
Giddey stars for dominant Bulls
The Bulls, who sit ninth in the Eastern Conference, have long ceased to be the pushover they once seemed. They have won seven of their last nine games and promise to put up more of a fight than expected, at least in the play-in tournament. Chicago dominated the game from start to finish and was only behind on the scoreboard for a few seconds in the first half. Their physical superiority, freshness and spirit led them to enjoy brutal shooting accuracy: 58.3% in field goals and 46.3% in three-pointers. Seven players finished in double digits in scoring, with Coby White standing out as the scourge of the Los Angeles defense. The guard finished with 36 points and 6/9 in three-pointers. Rookie Matas Buzelis was also magnificent, racking up 31 points.
But the night’s outstanding performer was Australian Josh Giddey, who served up a complete performance that was close to entering the history books. To his 15 points, 10 rebounds, and 17 assists, he added eight steals, leaving him on the verge of becoming the fifth player to achieve a quadruple-double in NBA history since blocks and steals began being recorded in 1973. So far, only Nate Thurmond, Alvin Robertson, Hakeem Olajuwon and David Robinson have achieved the feat.
Doncic racks up threes, but can’t keep Bulls from storming to victory
Until halftime, it was Luka Doncic who kept the Lakers alive. The Slovenian scored 29 of his 34 points in the first two quarters, with a run of 7/10 in three-pointers (he finished with eight, one short of his record). Four of his threes arrived in the last five minutes of the second quarter to get Los Angeles back in the game: they went from 39-49 to 62-65. But after the break and following a dunk by LeBron to open the third quarter, the Bulls went on a 4-15 run, and the lead kept increasing from that point on.
With six minutes left and the score at 103-126, Lakers head coach Redick raised the white flag, benching all of his starters and conceding the game. Chicago had simply been too good for the Lakers, with 74 points in the paint and 30 on the fast break, 27 after the Lakers' 21 turnovers. The Californians need to regain their physical sharpness as soon as possible, because what’s next is a four-stop mini-tour of the East. The games just keep on coming.
Article originally written in Spanish, before translated with the assistance of AI, and edited by William Allen.
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17
Dorian Finney-Smith
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23
LeBron James
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11
Jaxson Hayes
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77
Luka Dončić
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15
Austin Reaves
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30
Jordan Goodwin
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28
Rui Hachimura
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9
Bronny James Jr.
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4
Dalton Knecht
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10
Christian Koloko
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27
Alex Len
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20
Shake Milton
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88
Markieff Morris
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2
Jarred Vanderbilt
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7
Gabe Vincent
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55
Trey Jemison III
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5
Cam Reddish
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| Min | Pts | TR | OR | DR | Ast | Los | Rec | Blk | S1 | S2 | S3 | RF | CF | Val | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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17
Dorian Finney-Smith
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20 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0/0 | 1/1 | 0/3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | |
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23
LeBron James
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31 | 17 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2/5 | 6/14 | 1/2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
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11
Jaxson Hayes
|
25 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0/1 | 5/6 | 0/0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
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77
Luka Dončić
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31 | 34 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 6/8 | 2/5 | 8/13 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
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15
Austin Reaves
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33 | 25 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4/4 | 6/6 | 3/7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
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30
Jordan Goodwin
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15 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2/2 | 1/2 | 0/1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
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28
Rui Hachimura
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17 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0/0 | 1/2 | 1/4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
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9
Bronny James Jr.
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6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2/2 | 0/2 | 0/2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
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4
Dalton Knecht
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6 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0/0 | 0/1 | 2/3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
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10
Christian Koloko
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0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
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27
Alex Len
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6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
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20
Shake Milton
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6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0/0 | 1/2 | 0/1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
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88
Markieff Morris
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6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0/0 | 1/2 | 0/0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
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2
Jarred Vanderbilt
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11 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0/0 | 0/1 | 0/1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
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7
Gabe Vincent
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19 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 2/4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
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55
Trey Jemison III
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
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5
Cam Reddish
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
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14
Matas Buzelis
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13
Kevin Huerter
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|
9
Nikola Vučević
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3
Josh Giddey
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0
Coby White
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5
Jevon Carter
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12
Zach Collins
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22
Talen Horton-Tucker
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15
Julian Phillips
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7
Jalen Smith
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|
25
Dalen Terry
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|
44
Patrick Williams
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|
32
E.J. Liddell
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|
20
Emanuel Miller
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|
17
Jahmir Young
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| Min | Pts | TR | OR | DR | Ast | Los | Rec | Blk | S1 | S2 | S3 | RF | CF | Val | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
14
Matas Buzelis
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29 | 31 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2/2 | 7/8 | 5/10 | 0 | 5 | 0 | |
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13
Kevin Huerter
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33 | 14 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2/2 | 6/8 | 0/4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
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9
Nikola Vučević
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26 | 12 | 12 | 3 | 9 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0/0 | 3/7 | 2/3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
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3
Josh Giddey
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33 | 15 | 10 | 3 | 7 | 17 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 4/6 | 4/9 | 1/2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
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0
Coby White
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34 | 36 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 6/8 | 6/8 | 6/9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
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5
Jevon Carter
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3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0/0 | 1/1 | 0/0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
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12
Zach Collins
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17 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1/2 | 4/4 | 0/0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
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22
Talen Horton-Tucker
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3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0/0 | 0/1 | 0/0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
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15
Julian Phillips
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7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0/1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
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7
Jalen Smith
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3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0/1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
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25
Dalen Terry
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24 | 13 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0/0 | 5/8 | 1/4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
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44
Patrick Williams
|
22 | 14 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0/0 | 1/1 | 4/7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
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32
E.J. Liddell
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
|
20
Emanuel Miller
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
|
17
Jahmir Young
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |