Los Angeles Lakers coach Darvin Ham called the banner the team recently raised for winning the inaugural NBA in-season tournament “a great shot in the arm.”
After losing three of four games since capturing the title on Dec. 9, Los Angeles will seek another jolt when it visits the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday.
The Lakers sputtered down the stretch of Monday’s 114-109 home loss to the New York Knicks despite big nights from LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
James contributed 25 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists for his second triple-double this season, while Davis notched a double-double of 32 points and 14 rebounds.
“I feel like our energy was up and down throughout the course of the game,” James said. “We’ve been feeling it, definitely. Even through that, we still competed and gave ourselves a chance, but it’s a tough one for us.”
Los Angeles shot 42.4 percent, including 31.7 percent from 3-point range.
Although Austin Reaves (20 points) gave the Lakers another scoring option off the bench, the rest of the team beyond James and Davis shot 33.3 percent from the floor (18-for-54).
“You just got to continue to be aggressive and if you’re open, shoot it,” Ham said. “If it goes in, great. If not, you just got to keep that confidence and keep trying to find different ways to give yourself a chance and I thought we did that. Even down the stretch, even though we came up short, we never stopped competing. And that’s the thing that definitely gives you a ton of confidence.”
James is listed as questionable for Wednesday’s game because of a calf issue, while Davis has the same status due to a left ankle sprain.
Chicago won 108-104 at Philadelphia on Monday to cap a 2-1 road trip against the Eastern Conference-contending Miami Heat and 76ers.
In the two games before that, the Bulls lost at Milwaukee in overtime and battled defending champion Denver down the stretch of an eventual eight-point defeat.
“I think we are finally … starting to click, finding a rhythm, locking in on the things we’ve talked about all year and competing on a high level,” Bulls guard Alex Caruso said.
Chicago led by 11 at the break before holding off the hosts to snap Philadelphia’s six-game winning streak. Coby White flirted with a triple-double, contributing 24 points, nine assists and eight rebounds, while Nikola Vucevic had 23 points and eight boards.
Caruso, playing for just the second time in five games because of a sprained ankle, added 10 points to give Chicago six scorers in double figures.
“We’ve competed well against the better teams,” Bulls coach Billy Donovan said. “It’s just a matter for us of can we continue it? And I think we’re starting to see more consistency. The ups and downs of the game are going to happen. They happen for every team. But I like the way we’re responding back.”
Bulls forward Torrey Craig will be sidelined approximately eight to 10 weeks due to a plantar fascia sprain in his right foot, the team announced. Craig, who turned 33 on Tuesday, injured the foot during Saturday’s 118-116 road loss to the Heat. He sat out Monday’s game against the 76ers.
The Lakers are 7-3 in their past 10 games against the Bulls, but Chicago has won three of the past four behind a potent attack. The Bulls have scored at least 115 points in each of their past three victories in the series while shooting 50.6 percent during that span.
–Field Level Media