Coming off a buzzer-beating win, the Los Angeles Lakers looked to build some momentum as they continued their road trip against the Chicago Bulls in the second night of a back-to-back.
The Bulls blew the Lakers out in L.A. last week so the latter was looking for some revenge. Ultimately, they weren’t able to get it as they choked away a lead in the final minute and then lost on a halfcourt buzzer-beater by Josh Giddey to secure a 119-117 win for Chicago.
It was a bit of a slow start for the Lakers before Luka Doncic connected from deep on a nice pass by LeBron James. L.A. still needed an early timeout though with Chicago taking a 16-7 lead.
The Lakers weren’t getting their outside shots to fall while the Bulls were pushing the pace and using their speed and athleticism. Despite some nice buckets inside from Jaxson Hayes, the Lakers still trailed 32-22 at the end of the first.
Austin Reaves got going to start the second quarter with 10 straight points for L.A. to start to chip into that deficit. The Lakers went to a zone defense and found some success until Giddey ripped off five straight points.
Doncic found some success throwing lobs to Hayes, and the Lakers closed the half strong to take a 59-58 lead after Gabe Vincent beat the buzzer with a deep 3-pointer.
The Lakers came out strong to start the third quarter, beginning to get going from deep with Dorian Finney-Smith and Doncic both connecting. Doncic then found James for a thunderous alley-oop to extend the lead to double digits.
It was all Doncic in the third as he controlled the pace and found open looks for himself and others, including a pair of triples by Jordan Goodwin to give L.A. a 91-75 lead going into the fourth.
The Bulls weren’t just gonna pack it in from there as they quickly cut their 16-point deficit in half with Coby White catching fire, forcing a Lakers timeout. In fact, L.A.’s lead got down to five before Doncic returned and scored to restore order.
Again though, Chicago would not go away quietly as another 8-0 run kept it close going into the home stretch. Kevin Huerter buried a triple to cut the Lakers’ lead to one in the final minute, but Reaves came up with a massive bucket despite rolling his ankle a couple of minutes earlier.
The Bulls had a chance to tie it but Giddey missed a bunny and the Lakers made free throws. It still wasn’t over though as Patrick Williams hit a 3 and then the Lakers turned it over, immediately converting another 3 by White to take a one-point lead.
Reaves had another big bucket down the stretch on what appeared to be a game-winner before Giddey hit the half-court prayer to complete the insane comeback victory.
What’s next for the Lakers
The Lakers will close out their road trip on Saturday night against the Memphis Grizzlies, who could have big standings implications in a tight Western Conference playoff race.
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