Butler carries Bulls over Lakers
LOS ANGELES -- With Dwyane Wade taking the night off, Jimmy Butler carried the Chicago Bulls to a 118-110 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers Sunday night.
Butler scored 40 points on 14-of-23 shooting, including 12 points in the third quarter as the Bulls took control of the game.
The win gave the Bulls (9-5) a split of their back-to-back weekend in Los Angeles (they lost to the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday night) and a 3-1 start to their six-game road trip.
The Lakers, meanwhile, fell back to .500 (7-7) and have back-to-back losses to start their own daunting stretch of schedule. The losses to San Antonio (on Friday) and Chicago are followed by games against Oklahoma City, two against Golden State and another against Atlanta. All five teams are over .500.
Butler was the dominant force in the game from the start. He scored 13 points in the first quarter and abused young Lakers defenders D'Angelo Russell and Brandon Ingram (as well as Nick Young). He got to the free-throw line four separate times in the first quarter. His 19 first-half points included nine from the free-throw line.
The Lakers offset that with their strong bench scoring led by Lou Williams. Williams came off the bench late in the first quarter and ignited a 20-12 Laker run into the second quarter, scoring 14 of the points himself -- including a double-clutched, running three-pointer from just inside half court as the first-quarter buzzer sounded.
But the Bulls shot well in the first half (23 of 40) and turned around a mid-second quarter deficit with a late 11-0 run that gave them a one-point lead, 62-61, at halftime.
The Lakers scored the first seven points of the third quarter and built an eight-point lead, 75-67, midway through the quarter before everything turned.
The Bulls went on a 15-3 run that featured eight points from Butler. Seven Lakers' possessions during the Bulls' run produced 0 for 3 shooting from the field and four turnovers. That was the last lead change of the game.
The Lakers' drought continued until late in the fourth quarter when a brief surge capped by a Russell three tightened up the final score.
Russell returned to the Lakers' starting lineup after missing Friday's loss to the Spurs due to a sore knee. But he scored just eight points (half of his season average) on 3-of-11 shooting against the Bulls' defense. Williams and Larry Nance Jr. provided most of the offensive spark, leading the team with 25 and 18 points respectively off the bench for the Lakers.
Butler carried the load for the Bulls who outscored the Lakers decisively in the paint and shot 52 percent from the field overall.
NOTES: Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg said he spoke with 34-year-old veteran G Dwyane Wade after Saturday's loss to the LA Clippers and the two came to the "mutual conclusion" to give Wade the night off in the second game of back-to-back games in Los Angeles. Wade scored 28 points in a season-high 35:48 of playing time against the Clippers but shot just 1 of 5 from the field in the fourth quarter. Sunday was the first game this season Wade has missed. ... Bulls G Rajon Rondo played against the Clippers on Saturday after missing the previous two games with an ankle injury. Hoiberg listed Rondo as questionable to play back-to-back in Los Angeles but Rondo went through pre-game warm-ups and was in the starting lineup. ... Bulls F Doug McDermott missed his fourth consecutive game with a concussion. McDermott has not played since Nov. 12 and did not travel with the Bulls on this road trip. ... Lakers G D'Angelo Russell was back in action Sunday after missing Friday's game against the San Antonio Spurs with a sore left knee.