A night of atrocious defensive breakdowns, led to the Lakers letting the Chicago Bulls completely dismantle them offensively. They couldn’t find enough juice for a comeback and lost 146-115.
Luka Dončić scored 29 of his 34 points in the first half. He also grabbed eight rebounds and dished six dimes. Austin Reaves scored 25 points to go with his five assists.
LeBron James had a slow start, scoring just 17 points with six rebounds, four assists and three steals. Jaxson Hayes pitched in with 10 points, four rebounds and two assists.
The game began with the Lakers missing their first two shots, but eventually, both teams got hot offensively.
They kept taking turns with the lead. Luka and Austin were finding Jaxson, who was quickly up to four points with his strong play.
Chicago’s Coby White had an impressive start, going a perfect four for four from the field. Austin then found Dorian Finney-Smith with a perfect pass for a dunk.
It was a fast-paced first quarter with neither team able to establish a big lead. The defense was rough for L.A., allowing the Bulls to have quite a few wide-open shots. The game was tied with three minutes left in the quarter.
Luka then knocked down his third 3-pointer of the quarter and was up to 15 points. White was still perfect from the field until he missed a 3-pointer. At the end of the first, the purple and gold were down by one.
LA trail 32-31 heading out of the 1st Q as Chicago’s Coby White (16 points on 6 of 8 FG’s) nearly matched Luka Doncic (18 points on 5 of 8 FG’s).
— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) March 23, 2025
Austin started things offensively for the Lakers in the second quarter with a jumper. He followed that by draining a 3-pointer. The Lakers struggled in this half with controlling the ball and were up to five turnovers.
Los Angeles broke down defensively, which allowed the Bulls to go up seven.
Jarred Vanderbilt didn’t have productive minutes; he played messy and turned the ball over twice. LeBron was also having a rough go at it, forcing some bad passes. Dorian picked up his third foul.
Jaxson was subbed back in and provided some good energy for the team, making dunks and affecting Chicago’s shots. Chicago has scored 12 points off Los Angeles’ 10 turnovers. The Bulls were getting whatever shot they wanted, as the Lakers just kept letting them get whatever they wanted.
Luka drained two more 3-pointers, part of a 7-10 shooting spree from deep he had in the first half. Thanks to his play L.A. kept it close despite the horrendous defensive breakdowns.
The Bulls led the Lakers by just three at halftime.
Chicago scored 23 points in transition in the 1st half, helping them take a 65-62 lead into the half, despite 29 points on 9 of 14 shooting (including 7 3’s) from Luka Doncic.
— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) March 23, 2025
LeBron started the second half looking much better offensively, scoring four points early. However, Dorian picked up his fourth foul and had to be subbed out.
Chicago’s rookie Matas Buzelis drained two 3-pointers as L.A.’s defense continued to be non-existent.
White was still cooking the Lakers with his strong play, scoring seven straight points. Each time Los Angeles seemed to look like they were making it a game, Chicago hit back to extend their lead.
Rui Hachimura scored five much-needed points for L.A. Luka rattled in his eighth 3-pointer of the night. Despite the nice surge offensively, the Lakers continued to spoon-feed the Bulls far too many easy buckets.
The Bulls were up to 58 points in the paint through three quarters, while the Lakers were at 36. L.A. closed the quarter rough and found themselves down by 15.
LA trailed by as many as 10 in the 1st half, before rallying to get within 3 at the half. But it was the Bulls who regained control in the 3rd, outscoring LA 39-27 to take a commanding 104-89 lead.
LA have 17 TO’s to Chicago’s 8, and are being outscored 26-8 in transition.
— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) March 23, 2025
Gabe Vincent opened the final frame with six quick points off two 3-pointers. Unfortunately, the Lakers kept falling apart fast with the Bulls scoring easily. At the midway point, L.A. waved the white flag.
Key Takeaways:
Not the right time of the season for a bad game like this, but it happens so flush it out and regroup for the next one.
The transition defense has been a heavy struggle for this team this season. They need to clean that up because it will bite them in the behind during the playoffs where mistakes like that are magnified.
The Lakers’ next matchup is against the Orlando Magic on Monday at 4:00 PM PT.
You can follow Karin on Twitter at @KarinAbcarians.
