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Bulls 92, Lakers 86
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
LOS ANGELES — The Chicago Bulls extended the misery of the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center with a 92-86 victory Sunday afternoon before an announced crowd of 18,997.
Guard Kirk Hinrich led the Bulls with 19 points, while center Joakim Noah and forward Taj Gibson scored 18 apiece. Noah had a game-high 13 rebounds.
Chicago (25-25) handed the Lakers their fifth consecutive loss at home. The Bulls also defeated the Lakers (18-33), who have dropped eight of their past 10 games, for the fifth time in the last six meetings.
Reserve center Chris Kaman scored a season-high 27 points and pulled down 10 rebounds. Reserve forward Jordan Hill had 15 points, while point guard Kendall Marshall added 13 points and 11 assists.
Los Angeles closed to within 88-84 after a dunk by forward Wesley Johnson with 48.3 seconds remaining. But Bulls guard D.J. Augustin stole a pass by Steve Blake with 23.9 seconds left and was fouled.
Augustin, who finished with 15 points and six assists, hit two free throws with 21.1 seconds remaining and added two more with 9.3 seconds to secure the win for the Bulls.
The Bulls led by as much as 15 in the first half after Gibson scored on a reverse layup with 9:57 left in the second quarter for a 42-27 advantage. But the Lakers rallied to cut the deficit to 52-46 at the half.
Chicago opened the third with an 11-2 run for a 63-48 advantage four minutes into the quarter. It carried a 77-62 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Injuries continue to plague the Lakers. Guard Steve Nash, who has been ailing with back and leg problems that have limited him to just nine games this season, left the contest in the third quarter with a leg injury and did not return. Nash will be re-evaluated Monday and was being held out of the final portion of the game as a precaution, according to the team.
Nash finished with eight points and two assists in 21:14. He had been out since November before returning to play against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Feb. 4.
The Bulls swept the season series between the two clubs. They also posted a 102-100 win in overtime on Jan. 20.
NOTES: Bulls F Carlos Boozer missed his third game with a left calf injury. He is listed as day-to-day. … Lakers PG Jordan Farmar, who didn’t play, is day-to-day with hamstring soreness, but probably won’t return until after the All-Star break. … Chicago coach Tom Thibodeau on the firing of Detroit Pistons coach Maurice Cheeks: “Obviously a close friend of mine. Disappointed. It’s one of the bad parts of the business.” … Chicago F Joakim Noah had 38 rebounds and 35 points in the past two games against the Lakers entering Sunday’s contest. He had 21 boards (seven offensive) in the Bulls’ victory over the Lakers on Jan. 20. … The Bulls visit the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday before capping the first half of the season at home Thursday against the Brooklyn Nets. … Los Angeles hosts the Utah Jazz on Tuesday and the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday.
