The Los Angeles Lakers’ first half on Tuesday resembled many miserable stretches of the past four seasons. Although the Chicago Bulls have plenty of their own problems, they outworked, outshot and outsmarted the Lakers while taking a 14-point lead.
Lakers Coach Luke Walton reminded his young team that 14 points are not much in the NBA, and they proceeded to stage a rally that suggested the future might not be so miserable after all.
Kyle Kuzma had 22 points and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 11 of his 21 in the fourth quarter as the Lakers roared back from a 19-point deficit in the second half for a 103-94 victory over the Bulls.
Photo: AFP
Brandon Ingram had 17 points, five rebounds and five assists as the Lakers won consecutive games for the second time this season, doing so in a thrilling fashion that had their still-faithful fans cheering and recalling the 16-time champion franchise’s better years.
Los Angeles is off to an 8-10 start and in eighth place in the Western Conference — small achievements, but important steps for a young team just starting to believe it can compete.
The Lakers were not competitive in the first half while committing 13 turnovers and trailed 61-42 early in the second half, but they put together a 38-19 run spurred by an energetic third quarter.
Photo: EPA
Caldwell-Pope’s layup with 3 minutes, 8 seconds to play gave the Lakers their first lead since the first quarter, and the veteran added back-to-back three-pointers.
“I was shocked we were only down 14 at the half, to be honest,” Walton said. “It was a learning opportunity for the guys to be down 20 and realize you don’t need hero shots. You just need to tighten down on what we are doing and you can get back in the game.”
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