LeBron James returned to the court for the first time since missing 13 games with a foot injury and scored 19 points off the bench, but it was Zach LaVine who finished with a game-high 32 points to lift the Chicago Bulls to a 118-108 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday afternoon at Crypto.com Arena.
After guard Alex Caruso was sidelined with foot soreness in the first quarter, the Lakers were without a playmaker against the New York Knicks.
With center Rudy Gobert and guard Mike Conley returning to their lineup, the Utah Jazz found ways to contain the Lakers on Monday night. It started when forward Royce O’Neal scored the first five points for the Jazz .
With new-addition center Andre Drummond, the Los Angeles Lakers had a strong first quarter performance against the Milwaukee Bucks. They went 8-13 from the three-point range with forwards Kyle Kuzma and Markieff Morris leading the offense. The Lakers only had two turnovers.
The Los Angeles Lakers are improving their competitive edge in their 96-93 win against the Orlando Magic. The second consecutive victory comes the same day center Andre Drummond signed with the franchise.
The most staggering statistic of the Lakers’ Sunday night victory over the Pistons was that 40.8 percent of the Pistons’ missed shots came from blocks by the Lakers.
“We were just protecting the paint,” said Lakers’ forward Anthony Davis, who led the way with 24 points, 11 rebounds and eight blocks. “Last game , we gave up 60-something points in the paint. It’s something we don’t like doing, and we tried to make an emphasis tonight on protecting the paint.”
The Los Angeles Clippers started 2020 off with a win over the Detroit Pistons, 126-112. The Clippers won this contest but were stung once again by the injury bug as Paul George did not play the entire second half due to a hamstring injury.
Halloween was a night of treats for sports fans in Los Angeles.