Where I’m not sure yet, it was not a hallucination caused by sleep deprivation – it was a long week – a series that featured Jared Dudley, Talen Horton-Tucker and Montrezl Harrell, The Lakers helped bounce back from their recent loss to the Spurs by beating the Bulls, 117-115, Friday night.
Bird dusted off Dudley for his first non-garbage time burn of the season in the third quarter, and like pasta thrown out of desperation at a wall to see if a dish is being done, the move stalled. Dudley can move like a blogger during a pick-up game, but his infectious energy and defensive intensity as he dives into loose balls, like a crazy man turning and lubricating the wheels of offense, the Lakers injected the dose of electricity that needed them on a night they did too. often seemed flawed. His production on the box office – 0 points, 1 rebound, a plus-minus of +5 – will not show up, but he deserves the honor of grabbing when the Lakers needed him. They will need it from everyone sometimes, and tonight it was just Dudz’s turn.
Things did not look so good earlier in the evening. While Anthony Davis and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope missed the game with injuries, the Lakers defense that Davis blew on Thursday looked even more disorganized than ever, while Bulls guard Zach LaVine dropped 17 points in the first term.
However, the Lakers stayed in the game, mostly due to the offensive brilliance of LeBron James (28 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists) and Dennis Schröder (16 points and 7 assists), and consequently it was halftime with one lead. In the second half, they got a boost from Wesley Matthews, who exploded for 14 points in the second half when James searched for him again and again.
But the Bulls would not leave. Dudley’s boost helped, mostly because it woke up the rest of the team. Harrell eventually powered all the online power, blowing the Bulls with waves of junk and separate buckets for 17 points and 14 rebounds. He and the rest of the team were helped by a shot that was shot and a nasty pull from Schröder, buckets that gave the Lakers just enough breathing space to survive a few bricks through James, while the Lakers almost fell apart. and had the Bulls steal. this one. Luckily for them, LaVine (38 points, 6 assists and 5 rebounds) finally cooled down, and he lacked a jumper that would improve Chicago by just a few seconds. An incoming to the lightning-fast Schröder and a few free throws later, the Lakers survived.
The press and gold will be free on Saturday before returning to court on Sunday for the first of two road games against the Houston Rockets. And although they will not get any style points for it, this victory will raise the team’s record to 7-3, the best in the Western Conference.
It was not pretty, but a win is a win as this team continues to chase slowly and tries to replenish its record against a soft scheme, in any way necessary.
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