Blog: Young Core Guides Lakers Past Bulls

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It was far from beautiful, but the win column was nonetheless replenished, and that’s all that mattered to the Lakers.

They survived an ghastly offensive first half and rode another strong defensive effort to capture a 107-100 victory over Chicago.

“It was a good thing we made a commitment to each other to be a top-10 defensive team,” coach Luke Walton said, “because we heavily relied on our defense again tonight.”

Walton’s club is now sixth in the NBA in defensive rating, and third in the 11-game stretch since LeBron James went down with a groin strain.

In order to seize their fourth win sans James, the Lakers limited the Bulls (10-34) to just 40.2 percent shooting from the field, including 29.0 on 3-pointers.

Using aggressive coverages against Zach LaVine, L.A. (24-21) held Chicago’s top-15 scorer to only 10 points on 11 attempts. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (17 points) was the Lakers’ main defender on LaVine.

KCP and Tyson Chandler were inserted into the starting lineup in place of Josh Hart and JaVale McGee after the Lakers struggled in back-to-back losses.

“I loved our defensive intensity to start,” Walton said. “I’ll tell you that. I thought it carried throughout the game.”

The rest of the Lakers’ starting five — Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram and Kyle Kuzma — all stepped up throughout the night.

Ball’s contributions were most obvious, collecting a game-high 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists. He caught fire during the third quarter, scoring 11 straight points for the Lakers, including three 3-pointers.

“I had to,” Ball said. “I knew it was a must-win today. I knew I had to pick up whatever I could.”

Then it was Ingram’s turn in the fourth quarter. Up by four with nine minutes remaining, the Lakers bursted ahead for 14 unanswered points, with Ingram providing six and assisting on a 3-pointer.

He finished with 16 points, nine rebounds and seven assists — stepping up as a playmaker with James and Rajon Rondo on the mend.

“It’s a chance for me to get everybody involved,” Ingram said. “It’s a chance for me to show another part of my game. It’s a chance to build other guys’ confidence in their shots.

“With me getting in the lane [making] the defense collapse, I see a lot of guys open that I didn’t see earlier in the season. aIt helps my game out a lot and it helps their game out a lot.”

Ingram and Ball’s aggressiveness buoyed the Lakers in the second half, when they scored 63 points (19 more than the first) to hand Chicago its eighth straight loss.

“That’s the best version of Brandon,” Walton said. “That’s what we’re always trying to encourage. He was a huge part of that fourth quarter for us.”

Notes
Walton was unsure whether he would keep the same starters for Thursday’s game in Oklahoma City. … Kuzma attacked the basket for 16 points and 12 rebounds. … Jabari Parker led Chicago with 18 points in only 17 minutes. … Rick Fox and Fat Joe were among the sold-out crowd.

Source: Los Angeles Lakers

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