Lakers can’t finish against Chicago Bulls, wrapping up 1-2 road trip

CHICAGO – If the short-handed Lakers had been pummeled connected Sunday night, fewer would person been surprised.

But no: Losing six players to the NBA’s COVID-19 protocols and Anthony Davis to injury successful the span of a fewer abbreviated days made the squad fired up and feisty, giving the Chicago Bulls plentifulness of occupation for 48 minutes astatine United Center.

It made them conscionable competitory capable for heartbreak.

The last sequences of a 115-110 nonaccomplishment to the Bulls volition sting due to the fact that winning was frustratingly wrong reach. But the Lakers (16-15) couldn’t halt DeMar DeRozan (38 points) from dropping different monster crippled connected them, and they couldn’t support Chicago from violative rebounds that gave them back-breaking 2nd chances.

There was inactive anticipation adjacent with 15 seconds near that immoderate game-tying magic was near successful these Lakers, who won an overtime crippled successful Dallas that present feels eons ago. But Carmelo Anthony (21 points) and Wayne Ellington each missed 3-pointers that would person tied the crippled successful the past 10 seconds.

“A mates rebounds present down the stretch, we mightiness beryllium looking astatine a antithetic result,” Anthony said. “But immoderate things are conscionable retired of our power that we can’t control.”

Even though being competitory nether their circumstances felt a spot similar playing with location money, losing it astatine the extremity was crushing. LeBron James, who led with 31 points, declined to talk to the media aft an evening that saw him fuming astatine the Bull’s violative boards and the Lakers’ shortcomings connected defense, wherever they had to marque bash without Davis.

It’s a country that could beryllium easy repeatable successful the coming weeks: There’s nary mode to expect who mightiness trial into the league’s protocols, oregon who mightiness trial retired of them. The Lakers had to bash a batch connected the alert successful their 1-2 roadworthy trip, and didn’t adjacent decorativeness retired the travel with their caput manager connected the sideline.

Lead adjunct David Fizdale temporarily took connected the duties of Frank Vogel, who tested into the protocols Sunday morning. Vogel sent Fizdale texts and halftime successful postgame to capable the unit successful connected his insights.

“It’s Hunger Games,” Fizdale said. “You conscionable adapt.”

The Lakers’ biggest alteration was playing tiny without Davis oregon Dwight Howard, who has missed the past 3 games successful protocols. While DeAndre Jordan started, helium played conscionable nether 21 minutes – the remainder of the time, the Lakers had James oregon Anthony playing center. One agleam side: Trevor Ariza was capable to play his archetypal crippled arsenic a Laker since the 2009 championship, but helium was constricted successful his effectiveness successful conscionable 15 minutes.

The small-ball strategy worked well: James bullied his mode into the overgarment for buckets against Chicago’s competent but undersized defenders. The spacing besides allowed Russell Westbrook to get drives into the paint, finishing connected reverses oregon adjacent against triple teams for a hard-fought 20 points. As precocious arsenic 3:58 near successful the 4th quarter, the Lakers had a slim 3-point lead.

There were 2 cardinal disadvantages the Lakers could not overcome: They had 20 turnovers, which led straight to 29 Bulls points. Given that they were playing with comparative newcomers similar Chaundee Brown and Isaiah Thomas, determination was bound to beryllium much mix-ups than usual.

But adjacent though they were besides vertically challenged by virtuousness of losing Davis, Fizdale thought they could person shown much combat connected the glass. The Bulls got 16 violative rebounds, an Achilles bottommost that has kept re-emerging.

“I inactive person visuals successful my caput but excessively galore times the changeable goes up and we conscionable basal and crook and watch,” helium said. “We’ve got to spell find bodies, particularly erstwhile we got our tiny shot radical retired there. They cannot spectate.”

Given truthful galore chances, DeRozan helped bring it home. Like his archetypal match-up with the Lakers, helium thrashed them with his mid-range shooting and exploited each antiaircraft flaw helium could. He scored 19 points successful the 4th fourth alone, and did a ton of his harm astatine the escaped propulsion enactment (16 for 17).

James had a cleanable artifact of DeRozan for a go-ahead bucket with a infinitesimal left, but the Bulls rebounded doubly to springiness him different look connected a pull-up successful James’ look seconds later. After Westbrook narrowly missed a lay-up connected a thrust against Nikola Vucevic (19 points), Lonzo Ball got the rebound and got the shot backmost to DeRozan.

The Lakers fouled to enactment him astatine the enactment contempt that the Bulls’ changeable timepiece would person inactive expired earlier the extremity of regulation. DeRozan made some escaped throws, giving Chicago a 113-110 pb with 15 seconds left. Fizdale said helium was torn connected the decision.

“Do I person capable clip to get a changeable connected the backmost extremity of this if they tally it each the mode down, oregon bash I conscionable instrumentality the foul present and unrecorded with if helium makes some oregon misses 1 and present we’ve got a batch much clip to execute connected the backmost end?” helium posed rhetorically. “It ended up obviously, helium made some of them but we inactive got 2 truly bully looks from 3 to necktie the game.”

Unlike Ellington’s changeable successful Dallas, these looks didn’t fall. And present the Lakers caput backmost home, uncertainty clouding the adjacent week of the play and beyond.