The Los Angeles Lakers have been playing their best basketball of the 2025-26 season as of late, reeling off three consecutive wins entering their matchup against the Chicago Bulls. While the Lakers are still very much in playoff contention, the Bulls will be heading toward the lottery after shipping away most of their veterans at the trade deadline.
Although Los Angeles was riding plenty of momentum from their previous wins, they still found themselves having to compete with Chicago’s young roster that continued to fight throughout the evening. The Bulls staged a comeback in the second half, narrowing the gap at the free throw line and even forcing the Lakers into some bad shots.
Fortunately, the purple and gold were able to pull away midway through the fourth quarter and eventually won 142-130. The victory marked Los Angeles’ fourth in the row and more importantly gave them sole possession of the third seed in the Western Conference.
The starters scored 137 of the 142 points, making it the fourth-highest output from a starting lineup in NBA history.
With little defense played between both teams, it offered the perfect setting for Luka Doncic to erupt offensively. Chicago had zero answers for Doncic who got any shot he wanted every time down the floor, allowing Los Angeles to play from ahead the entire night.
Matas Buzelis was seen talking to Doncic on a few occasions and the Lakers star seemed to take it personally as he had fun torching him him on the offensive end. Doncic effectively ended the game in the fourth quarter after hitting several deep 3-pointers, putting Los Angeles up so big that Chicago had no time to threaten them.
Luka made scoring look easy as he scored 51 points, the most he’s scored since coming to Los Angeles. However, Doncic also filled up the rest of the box score and nearly had a triple-double as he also finished with 10 rebounds, nine rebounds, three steals and one block.
Deandre Ayton was the lone true big man for the Lakers after Jaxson Hayes and Maxi Kleber were ruled out, but he responded with one of best games to date. The middle of the paint was open all evening for Ayton who dominated the Bulls with lobs and putbacks.
Ayton’s effort on both ends of the floor was palpable and he ended the night with a massive double-double of 23 points and 10 rebounds.
Meanwhile, Austin Reaves chipped in 30 points without taking a single free throw in the win.
What’s next for the Lakers
The Lakers have a big test on Saturday against the Denver Nuggets before heading back on the road on Monday to play the Houston Rockets.
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