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 The night started with a love fest for a former teammate, Chicago
Bulls forward Pau Gasol, and ended with a surprising win by the
Lakers.
Forward Jordan Hill scored 26 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, and
Los Angeles halted a nine-game skid with a thrilling 123-118
double-overtime victory over Chicago on Thursday night at Staples
Center.
Gasol, who played his first game at Staples since spurning the
Lakers to join the Bulls as a free agent for less money, was the
focal point for much of the night. The Lakers honored Gasol, who
helped the organization capture two NBA titles during more than six
seasons here, with a video tribute, and fans responded with a
rousing standing ovation before tipoff.
"It was tough at first," said Gasol, who finished with 20 points, 10
rebounds, six assists and four blocked shots in 44 minutes. He also
met briefly with ex-teammate Kobe Bryant before the game.
"With so many emotions, it took me a while to get settled into the
game," Gasol continued. "After that I was fine. Obviously, we didn't
play well enough to win the game, so that's the down side."
 Guard Wayne Ellington added 23 points, eight coming in the second
overtime and 17 after halftime, as the Lakers (13-34) avoided
matching the 1993-94 club for the franchise's longest losing streak.
Point guard Jordan Clarkson had 18 points, and forward Carlos Boozer
finished with 16 points and eight rebounds for Los Angeles.
"I think our guys just battled and played extremely hard all game
long," Lakers coach Byron Scott said. "We just never got down on
ourselves and never got too high. We just got that energy level,
which turned out being for 58 minutes."
Guard Jimmy Butler, who played 49 minutes, led Chicago with 35
points, while point guard Derrick Rose had 17 points. Guard Aaron
Brooks scored 15 off the bench, and center Joakim Noah contributed
nine points, nine assists and 17 rebounds.
The Bulls (30-18) fell for the second time in three games.
"In the beginning, they were comfortable moving around," said Rose,
who missed 19 of his 26 shots from the floor and made just one of
seven from 3-point range. "Getting to spots they wanted to get to.
We did a poor job with getting to the ball."
Hill's jumper with 1:53 left in the second overtime gave the Lakers
a 114-109 lead. It was too much for the Bulls to overcome. Two foul
shots by Butler got Chicago within three, but six straight points by
the Lakers sealed the decision.
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Rose hit a 3-pointer to open the first overtime for Chicago's first
lead, but the Bulls failed to hold a five-point advantage down the
stretch. Los Angeles tied the score at 106 on a drive by Ellington
followed by a jumper by Hill with 16.2 seconds remaining, forcing a
second extra period.
The Lakers appeared to have the game wrapped up in regulation. They
held a 92-83 lead after a basket inside by center Robert Sacre with
5:39 left in the game. The Bulls sliced the deficit to four, but Los
Angeles pushed the cushion back to nine after a three-point play by
Clarkson with 2:08 left.
However, two free throws, a 3-pointer and a dunk by Butler with 44.2
seconds remaining cut the margin to 98-96. Gasol tied the score on a
tip-in with 11 seconds left.
Hill's jump hook in the lane just before the horn in regulation went
in and out.
"They put pressure and we got on our heels," Ellington said of the
Lakers' meltdown in regulation. "We were in attack mode the whole
night until then. We froze up, (but) we snapped out of it."
Los Angeles again played without guard Nick Young, who missed his
second consecutive game due to a sprained right ankle.
NOTES: Chicago SG Jimmy Butler found out about his selection as a
reserve to the NBA Eastern Conference All-Star squad at his club's
morning shootaround Thursday. "I think everybody would love to make
the All-Star team in their career," said Butler, the Bulls' leading
scorer at 20.1 points per game. "I feel like I've come a long way
since I started (in Chicago), since I started playing basketball. I
guess you could say that that's one thing you would want as a kid
growing up is to be in the league (and) be an All-Star." ... Bulls F
Mike Dunleavy sat out the contest with an injured right ankle. ...
Chicago resumes its six-game road trip in Phoenix against the Suns
on Friday. ... The Lakers begin a four-game Eastern swing against
the New York Knicks on Sunday.
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