Lakers Rally From 19-point Deficit To Beat Bulls, 103-94
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kyle Kuzma had 22 points, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 11 of his 21 in the fourth quarter and the Los Angeles Lakers rallied from a 19-point deficit in the second half for a 103-94 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday night.
Brandon Ingram had 17 points, five rebounds and five assists as the Lakers won consecutive games for the second time this season.
Los Angeles had a miserable first half and trailed 61-42 early in the second, but put together a 38-19 run. Caldwell-Pope's layup with 3:08 to play gave the Lakers their first lead since the first quarter.
Caldwell-Pope added back-to-back 3-pointers to get the LA crowd on its feet. After Ingram made a difficult layup with 1:16 left, Caldwell-Pope alertly kept a loose ball alive after Lonzo Ball missed a 3-pointer, allowing the Lakers to seal their first win over the Bulls at Staples Center in three tries.
Denzel Valentine scored 17 points and Antonio Blakeney added 15 — all in the first half — for the Bulls, who dropped to 3-12 with their seventh loss in eight games.
Kris Dunn had 12 points and six assists in his second start of the season for Chicago.
Ball had eight points, 13 rebounds and four assists. After posting his second career triple-double Sunday against Denver, the touted rookie missed seven of his first eight shots against Chicago, but provided strong playmaking down the stretch.
The NBA's worst shooting team hit seven 3s in the first half while taking an 18-point lead over the step-slow Lakers. Blakeney was a rookie surprise, hitting a career-high six shots in the opening minutes while the Bulls surged well ahead.
Los Angeles committed 13 first-half turnovers, played poor defense and would have been buried without Kuzma's gritty scoring.
TIP-INS
Bulls: Fred Hoiberg promoted Dunn to the starting lineup in place of Jerian Grant, and the coach expects it to be a long-term move. Dunn has been a steady force off Chicago's bench, and Hoiberg expects Grant to take a similar role with the reserves going forward. ... David Nwaba missed the game with a sprained ankle. The LA native became a steady bench contributor for the Lakers last season, but Chicago snatched him off waivers in July while the Lakers shuffled their roster.
Lakers: Los Angeles visits Chicago on Jan. 26. ... F Larry Nance Jr. could be back with the team as early as next week. He had surgery on his broken left hand only three weeks ago, but has healed quicker than expected.
TWINS
Brook Lopez had four points on 2-for-10 shooting and nine rebounds for the Lakers against his twin brother, Robin, who had 14 points and three rebounds for the Bulls. The twins grew up in North Hollywood rooting for the Lakers, who acquired Brook Lopez in a trade with Brooklyn last summer.
UP NEXT
Bulls: At the Utah Jazz on Wednesday night.
Lakers: At the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday night.
Copyright 2017 The Associated Press.
