Late Lakers show as Bulls stumble

Los Angeles - Agence France-Presse

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Kyle Kuzma led the way as the Los Angeles Lakers staged a late rally to down the Chicago Bulls on Nov. 21.

In the only NBA game of the day as the United States prepares for Thursday’s Thanksgiving holiday, the Lakers fought back to win 103-94 at the Staples Center.

The win saw the Lakers improve to 8-10, lifting them into the playoff places in the Western Conference.

The defeat was another setback for Chicago, however, who are languishing near the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings at 3-12.

The Lakers, who are in a rebuilding phase after missing the playoffs for the past four seasons, trailed 89-83 with just over six minutes left. But a late scoring burst helped them haul in Chicago to seal the win.

Kuzma led the scoring with 22 points while Caldwell-Pope was just behind with 21.

Brandon Ingram added 17 points while both Julius Randle (10 points) and Jordan Clarkson (12) also had double figures.

Rookie star Lonzo Ball had another wayward scoring night, finishing with just eight points. But he managed to pull down 13 rebounds and provided four assists.

Caldwell-Pope’s points total included 11 in the final minutes as Los Angeles completed a comeback in a game which had seen them trail by as many as 19 points at one stage.

Denzel Valentine led Chicago’s points with 17 while Antonio Blakeney was the next highest with 15. Four other Chicago players posted double-digit scores.