D'Angelo Russell puts up 29 as Lakers outrun Bulls

[January 26, 2024]  D'Angelo Russell made a season-high eight 3-pointers and scored 29 points to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to a high-octane, 141-132 victory over the visiting Chicago Bulls on Thursday night.
 
LeBron James added 25 points and 12 assists after missing one game due to an ankle injury. Anthony Davis recorded 22 points and 11 rebounds for his seventh straight double-double and Austin Reaves had 20 points and eight assists for Los Angeles.  

Jan 25, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) shoots against Chicago Bulls center Nikola Vucevic (9) during the first half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Jarred Vanderbilt had 17 points on 8-of-11 shooting and Taurean Prince added 14 points for the Lakers, who lost 13 of their previous 20 games.

DeMar DeRozan registered 32 points and 10 assists and Coby White added 25 points and seven rebounds for the Bulls. Nikola Vucevic had 20 points and eight rebounds, Ayo Dosunmu scored 18 points, Alex Caruso added 17 points and Andre Drummond had 11 points and nine rebounds as Chicago dropped to 0-2 on a three-game road trip.

The Bulls were without Zach LaVine (ankle) for the third straight game.

Los Angeles shot a blistering 60.9 percent from the floor, including 20 of 31 (64.5 percent) from 3-point range. Rui Hachimura added 10 points for the Lakers.

The Bulls connected on 53.4 percent of their shots, including 12 of 37 (32.4 percent) from behind the arc.

Los Angeles began to take control when Russell knocked down a 3-pointer with 8:44 left in the second quarter to put the Lakers in the lead and start a half-ending, 31-14 run.

Chicago trailed 61-57 after a 3-pointer by Dosunmu with 3:08 left before the Lakers ripped off 12 straight points for a 73-57 halftime advantage.

Los Angeles shot 61.4 percent from the floor and made 11 of 17 (64.7 percent) from 3-point range in the half. Reaves scored 16 before the break to pace the Lakers, while DeRozan had 13 in the half for the Bulls.

Russell was hot in the third quarter as he made five 3-pointers and scored 17 points.

Russell sank two treys in the early stages of the third as Los Angeles increased its lead to 89-67. Later, Russell knocked down three treys in 103 seconds as the Lakers led 106-84. Davis followed with a basket to make it a game-high, 24-point margin with 1:22 to go.

The Lakers took a 112-93 advantage into the final stanza. The Bulls moved within 140-132 on two free throws by DeRozan with 46.2 seconds remaining before Los Angeles closed it out.

--Field Level Media

[© 2024 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.