LeBron James didn’t come off the bench this time.
In his second game back from missing a month to a foot injury, James, who came off the bench on Sunday in Los Angeles when the Chicago Bulls prevailed, set the tone along with the other Lakers starters in Wednesday’s rematch at the United Center.
James finished with 25 points, seven rebounds and four assists, while Chicago product Anthony Davis dominated with 38 points, 10 rebounds, two steals and two blocks as the Lakers beat the Bulls 121-110.
The loss dealt a blow to the Bulls’ hopes to climb out of the 10th seed in the play-in race. Here are seven observations:
1. Austin Reaves reciprocated Patrick Beverley’s “too small” gesture that Beverley flashed at James on Sunday, pulling it out after scoring in the lane in the fourth quarter.
“I was waiting for it. I knew it was going to come out some time,” Beverley said. “I’m glad he did it.”
The two connected during Beverley’s time with the Lakers this season.
“He plays the right way. He’s been playing that way all season,” Beverley said. “He lets things come to him. He’s really clever in pick-and-roll.”
Reaves, who finished with 19 points and five assists, downplayed the gesture.
“It wasn’t something I thought about doing all game,” Reaves said. “But right time, right situation. Me and Pat have a good relationship. I respect him. It’s just me competing.”
2. The Lakers smothered the Bulls with a 27-13 start in which only Nikola Vucevic scored for the Bulls. Not until Coby White sank a layup with 3 minutes, 11 seconds left in the first did another Bull crack the scoring column.
Coach Billy Donovan said he liked the ball movement and looks the Bulls had in this stretch. Overall, the Bulls had to rally to shoot 9-for-33 from 3-point range.
“We didn’t particularly shoot it well, obviously,” Beverley said.
3. DeMar DeRozan didn’t score until the 9:02 mark of the second quarter. Zach LaVine didn’t score until the 6:28 mark of the same period.
The Lakers repeatedly blitzed both Bulls’ stars, essentially forcing other players to try to beat them. DeRozan finished with 22 points, while LaVine added 16 on 14 shots.
“They adjusted to doubling pretty much everything,” LaVine said. “It slowed us up. I think we played really slow. They put us on our heels early. . . . They were doubling me at halfcourt. I was trying to get off of (the ball.) Give the credit to the defense.”
4. The Lakers’ starters plus-minus totals ranged from plus-11 to D’Angelo Russell’s game-best plus-35. The Bulls’ starters plus-minus totals ranged from minus-5 to Beverley’s minus-32.
The Bulls’ bench did enjoy a 38-14 scoring advantage, a lopsided total aided by mop-up time. But in short, the Lakers’ starters dominated the game.
White continued his strong play off the bench with 17 points and nine assists.
5. Donovan admitted he considered starting Patrick Williams for Alex Caruso in the second half as Caruso continues to battle through his left midfoot soreness.
Donovan ended up going to Williams, who was largely a non-factor with two points and one rebound in 27 minutes, just over 2 minutes into the second half.
“Alex doesn’t complain. He doesn’t say anything. I can just tell the way he’s moving. It was not asking him to come out. I just pulled him out here and there. It was a hard matchup with LeBron. I tried to sub pretty early in the third to get Patrick out there with just some more size,” Donovan said. “Alex will give everything he has got.
But he’s going to have to deal with this. It’s going to be an ongoing challenge for him the rest of the year. He tries to fight through it the best that he can.”
6. The Lakers outrebounded the Bulls 45-32 and scored a whopping 29 second-chance points. Donovan rued the Bulls getting too deep in the paint for proper rebounding position.
“We’re not particularly a tall team,” Beverley said. “So we have to do a better job putting bodies on people.”
In fact, the Bulls scored the same number of field goals as the Lakers with 45. But the Lakers enjoyed a 30-13 edge in free-throw attempts and piled up the second-chance points.
7. The loss put a legitimate dent into the Bulls’ desire to climb out of the 10th seed. They now trail both the Raptors and Hawks by two games with six to play.
The Raptors already have clinched the tiebreaker, while Tuesday’s home game against the Hawks will determine that tiebreaker with the Bulls.
“The next game is the most important one. It’s going to be like that for the next six games,” LaVine said. “Obviously, you don’t want to have back-to-back losses. But you can’t dwell on it.”
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