FINAL FROM THE UNITED CENTER:
Los Angeles Lakers 118 Bulls 112. (Bulls: 2-6, 1-2 at home)
LEADING SCORERS: Bulls: LaVine: 26pts. Lakers: James: 30pts.
LEADING REBOUNDERS: Bulls: Carter: 11. Lakers: James: 10.
LEADING ASSISTS: Bulls: LaVine: 7. Lakers: James: 11.
STAT OF THE NIGHT: 27-4 Lakers run late 3rd -early 4th quarters erasing an 18 point Bulls lead.
IN THE LOCKER ROOM: Coach Boylen: "The team is upset. These guys care, they work. They're upset. This is a learning group. We have to learn. We played good stretches of basketball. Where we've struggled is put together 48 minutes of basketball."
RECAP: The Bulls played an excellent 32 minutes of basketball only to see the Lakers storm from behind winning their sixth straight en route to a six-point win. Los Angeles outscored the Bulls 70-47 in the second half. The Lakers bench of Kyle Kuzma and Quinn Cook derailed the Bulls with their timely scoring. Kuzma scored 11 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter. LeBron was LeBron. He became the first player to post three consecutive triple-doubles for the Lakers since Magic Johnson in 1987. Coby White was tremendous off the bench but the Bulls lost for the fifth time in their last six outings. Chandler Hutchison saw his first action of the season playing 15 minutes scoring five points and pulling down three rebounds.
Up Next: At Atlanta tonight. 6:15 CT pre 670 The Score and NBCSC at 6:30 CT.
24 SECONDS NBA NEWS AND NOTES:
Atlanta 108, San Antonio 100: A rare home/home back to back for the Hawks. Trae Young returned from the inactive list and scored 28 of his 29 points in the second half. Jabari Parker added 19 points. The Hawks ended a three-game losing streak but lost John Collins for 25 games after he was suspended by the NBA for violating the league's anti-drug program for testing positive for a growth hormone.
Charlotte 122, Indiana 120 OT: The Hornets Devonte Graham is poised for a breakout year as he pumped in a career-high 35 points. Indiana's T.J. Warren and Malcolm Brogdon combined for 64 points. The Hornets went to the foul line 42 times; the Pacers 7. You do the math.
Denver 109, Miami 89: The Nuggets ended Miami's three-game win streak.
Boston 119, Cleveland 113: Gordon Hayward tied his career-high with 39-connecting on 17 of 20 from the field.
Oklahoma City 102, Orlando 94: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander poured in 24 points. The Magic fell to 2-5.
So much for a possible full strength Finals preview tonight with the Clippers and Bucks. LAC will sit Kawhi Leonard tonight (load management).
Thanks for reading CCI. Reach out: cswirsky@bulls.com or Twitter @ctsbulls
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