Jimmy Butler Scores 40, Leads Bulls Past Lakers
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jimmy Butler scored a season-high 40 points and Isaiah Canaan added a season-high 17 in the Chicago Bulls' fifth victory in six games, 118-110 over the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday night.
Nikola Mirotic had 15 points and 15 rebounds and the Bulls held off Los Angeles' late rally for their third win in four stops on their annual circus road trip.
Rajon Rondo had four points, nine rebounds and 12 assists despite a sore left ankle. He hit a floater in the lane with 28.6 seconds left to secure the Bulls' win after Los Angeles trimmed a 15-point lead to five.
Lou Williams scored a season-high 25 points and Larry Nance Jr. had a career-high 18 for the Lakers (7-7), but their other young stars mostly struggled in their second straight loss.
Dwyane Wade took his first night off this season for the Bulls. He scored 28 points on Saturday while Chicago blew a 19-point lead in a loss to the Clippers, but the Bulls are monitoring their 34-year-old guard's long-term health.
D'Angelo Russell had only eight points and seven assists while playing on a sore left knee. Jordan Clarkson managed just five points on 1-of-12 shooting, and Julius Randle had 14 points.
Butler destroyed a series of Los Angeles defenders with his usual flair, scoring inside and on the perimeter without hitting a 3-pointer. Chicago also outrebounded the Lakers 56-37, constantly outhustling Los Angeles to loose balls.
Even on a bad night, the young Lakers made a late rally to trim Chicago's lead to 115-110 with 1:12 left on back-to-back 3-pointers by Nick Young and Russell.
Young and Russell then missed 3-pointers that would have trimmed Chicago's lead to two, and Butler won a jump ball before Rondo's clinching floater.
TIP-INS
Bulls: Rondo played his second straight game on that balky ankle. ... They'll host the Lakers in the rematch on Nov. 30. The Bulls have only two games before then, while the Lakers have five. ... German C Paul Zipser sat out with a lower back strain.
Lakers: Coach Luke Walton got his first technical foul of the season from referee Kane Fitzgerald in the second quarter after a no-call. ... Luol Deng scored six points. He spent his first 9 1/2 NBA seasons with the Bulls.
UP NEXT
Bulls: The circus trip continues at Denver on Tuesday.
Lakers: Host Oklahoma City on Tuesday in the next daunting matchup of a rough stretch with 18 games in 30 days.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press.