Welcoming LeBron back, the Los Angeles Lakers still received a crushing defeat at home
After three recent wins, the Los Angeles Lakers are confident and full of hope towards the Western Playoffs. The next challenge of the yellow and purple jersey team is the Chicago Bulls, the collective is also in a fierce competition in the East.
Having a good mental advantage and playing at home, the Lakers also received good news when LeBron James suddenly reappeared to add strength. However, things did not go as the LA fans expected.
After a tense first half, the second half saw the Los Angeles Lakers lead by 20 points by the Chicago Bulls with a 30-13 run.
Thanks to the mental shock after the timeout, LeBron James and his teammates responded with a 16-4 tremor to temporarily close the gap to 8 points before the break.
It was thought the Lakers would be able to take advantage of this sublimation to return, but Anthony Davis encountered a foul-trouble with a fifth personal foul in the third round, pushing him to the bench.
On the other side of the front line, the Chicago Bulls beat the better, playing firmly in both attack and defense to maintain the advantage.
The decisive moment of the match came at the beginning of the fourth half when DeMar DeRozan set up a personal streak of 8-0, re-establishing the 20-point gap for the Bulls. This number is too large and there is not enough time for the Los Angeles Lakers to complete a comeback.
Malik Beasley led the effort of the LA team with 3 3-pointers in the last 2 minutes of the game, but that was not enough to fill the huge gap on the scoreboard.
The competition at Crypto.com Arena ended with the final victory of 118-108 for the visiting team from Chicago. This result helps them to have a total record of 36-38, temporarily ranked 10th in the East but only lost to the two teams ranked above exactly 1 win.
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Lakers were overtaken by the New Orleans Pelicans (won LA Clippers 131-110) and dropped to 9th. The LA team is currently 1.5 games away from 6th place of the Golden State Warriors.
Zach LaVine is the player of the day with 32 points, 4 assists and a scoring rate of up to 68% (13-19 FG). DeMar DeRozan completed a double-double, playing well with 17 points and 10 assists.
Just re-appeared, LeBron James played the leading role of the Los Angeles Lakers team with 19 points, 8 rebounds. Malik Beasley and Troy Bornw Jr are right behind, each scoring 18 points.
Anthony Davis, having to be friends with the bench for foul-trouble, missed his chance for a "monster-game." He finished the game with 15 points (6-8 FG) along with nine rebounds and five assists.
In the next game, the Los Angeles Lakers and Chicago Bulls will continue to meet again but at the United Center arena, the Bulls' home ground.
This is the game that the Lakers need to win to continue to maintain their hopes of reaching the top-6 in the Western NBA. The match between the Lakers and the Bulls will take place at 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday, March 30.
