[February 10, 2014]LOS ANGELES — Bulls 92, Lakers 86: Joakim Noah
collected 20 points and 13 rebounds as visiting Chicago toppled Los
Angeles.
Kirk Hinrich hit three 3-pointers en route to 17 points for the
Bulls, who completed a six-game road trip with a 3-3 mark. Taj
Gibson scored 18 points in his second straight start and D.J.
Augustin scored 15 off the bench for Chicago, which moved back to
.500 at 25-25.
Chris Kaman recorded a season-high 27 points and 10 rebounds for the
Lakers, who missed out on their first three-game winning streak
since Nov. 17-24. Kendall Marshall contributed 13 points and 11
assists off the bench and Jordan Hill had 15 points and nine boards
in a reserve role as Los Angeles did not have a starter score in
double figures.
The Bulls took a 15-point lead into the fourth quarter but Kaman
capped a 7-0 burst starting the period to cut it to 77-69. Chicago
pushed it back to an 11-point edge on Hinrich’s 3-pointer with 7:41
left but Kaman found Wesley Johnson for a dunk to cut it to 88-84
with 48 seconds left before Augustin closed it out with four free
throws in the final 21 seconds.
Gibson had 16 points in the first half and the Bulls led by as much
as 15 before settling for a 52-46 lead at the break. Noah scored
four points in an 11-2 run beginning the third that stretched it
back out to 15 points and Hinrich’s 3-pointer with 3:29 left made it
a 72-53 gap before Los Angeles closed to 77-62 heading into the
fourth.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Lakers G Steve Nash left the game with nerve
irritation in left leg early in the second half and did not return.
… The Bulls went 17-for-17 from the free-throw line. … Gibson got
the start in place of Carlos Boozer (calf) and went 7-of-18 from the
field.
