Bulls upbeat after losing to Lakers
If the game was hide-and-seek instead of basketball, the Bulls would have been winners on Tuesday.
After what seemed like weeks of searching, the Bulls finally found their lost formula for victory. It didn't work against the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers, who escaped the United Center with a 96-87 victory.
But the Bulls played a good game and had a chance to win well into the fourth quarter, which could be a sign that they're capable of escaping from the 2-11 funk they've exhibited over the past 13 games.
"When you're getting blown out by 30 points, how can you say we're improving?" Bulls center Joakim Noah asked. "But I feel like tonight, we can look at ourselves in the mirror and say, 'You know what, we gave it everything we had.' We've got to keep that up if we want to turn this season around."
Noah was the most obvious example of the Bulls' better effort. He finished with 20 rebounds, 11 points and 6 blocks. The Bulls piled up a 22-6 edge in offensive rebounds against one of the league's tallest and most talented front lines.
"We kind of addressed it after the game," said guard Kirk Hinrich. "Give this sort of effort night in and night out and we'll go home and win or lose, we'll be able to sleep at night."
Despite playing with a broken right index finger, Lakers star Kobe Bryant delivered 42 points while hitting 15 of 26 shots from the field. He got John Salmons in early foul trouble, then used his 5-inch height advantage to launch shot after shot over Hinrich.
"You feel like you're wasting all your energy," Hinrich said. "I felt like I played him tough, he was just making shots. There weren't many times when I feel like I could have done something different."
It's possible that Bryant's shot selection played in the Bulls' favor, because he scored 20 of his points in the first quarter. During one stretch, Bryant shot the ball on seven consecutive possessions.
He was scoring points, but he also took his teammates out of the game. The Lakers' second-leading scorer was center Andrew Bynum (11 points).
To get used to shooting with the broken finger, Bryant said he arrived at the UC earlier than usual to get extra shots in. He piled up 8 turnovers, a likely indication that he wasn't quite right.
"This is the most challenging (injury)," he said. "I've played with sore ankles, broken knuckles and things like that. It's tough. It affects my follow-through."
The Bulls (8-15) got off to a fast start, taking an early 14-4 lead and totaling 31 points in the opening quarter, which ended a streak of 12 consecutive quarters scoring below 30 points.
The home team led 73-72 heading into the fourth quarter before Maywood native Shannon Brown put the Lakers (19-4) ahead for good with a 3-point basket and fast-break dunk after Hinrich threw a behind-the-back pass off Jordan Farmar's foot.
Trailing 79-77, the Bulls missed their next 8 shots and the Lakers pulled away.
There were plenty of chances to take the game to the wire. Derrick Rose had two point-blank shots roll off the rim. Noah had two tips in a row that wouldn't fall. Salmons missed an open 3-pointer, then knocked one down, but it was waved off by an illegal screen foul on Noah.
Rose played one of his best games of the season, driving to the basket aggressively to finish with 21 points and 6 assists. He went to the locker room in the first quarter after aggravating a rib strain, but checked back in midway through the second.
Luol Deng added 21 points, a nice improvement from scoring 6 against Ron Artest when the Bulls lost to the Lakers in L.A. on Nov. 19.
"I really felt since the Golden State game, we've played hard," Deng said. "The Boston game, it was our fourth game in five nights and I thought we played hard for three quarters. So I think we're headed the right way. We've got to keep fighting and hopefully we'll keep playing this way."
<p class="factboxheadblack">Mike McGraw's game tracker</p> <p class="News">Lakers 96, Bulls 87</p> <p class="News"><b>Effort arrives:</b> After a few weeks in the doldrums, the Bulls finally delivered a strong performance. They were in the game until going ice cold in the fourth quarter. Despite getting plenty of good looks, the Bulls scored just 14 points in the fourth, which included a Luol Deng 3-pointer with 2.5 seconds left.</p> <p class="News"><b>One-man show:</b> Kobe Bryant was definitely impressive while piling up 42 points and hitting 15 of 26 shots. But he also took his teammates out of the game by monopolizing the ball in the first quarter. L.A.'s second-highest scorer was center Andrew Bynum with 11 points.</p> <p class="News"><b>Noah knows glass:</b> Joakim Noah finished with 20 rebounds and 6 blocks. His 14 offensive boards were the most by a Bull since Dennis Rodman grabbed 15 on Dec. 23, 1997, against the Clippers.</p> <div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Stories</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=344474">Lakers' Artest addresses issues<span class="date"> [12/15/09]</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>