Lakers vs. Bulls: Score and Twitter Reaction from Christmas Day 2014
The Los Angeles Lakers got a whole lot of coal for Christmas.
First, head coach Byron Scott decided to bench Kobe Bryant for the game, opting to give the superstar a break. And then the Chicago Bulls went out and beat the Lakers, 113-93, led by former Laker Pau Gasol, who finished with 23 points and 13 rebounds.
Talk about adding insult to injury. Still, there were nothing but good feelings between Bryant and Gasol after the game, per Bleacher Report on Twitter:
Jimmy Butler was excellent for the Bulls as well, scoring 21 points and adding six rebounds, while former MVP Derrick Rose played 32 minutes, notching 20 points and six assists.
Bulls fans will certainly be pleased to see Rose looking like his old self. He dished out a heck of an assist in the first half, per the NBA on Twitter:
He also put home this beautiful floater:
Wesley Johnson led the Lakers with 19 points (he also pulled down nine boards), while Ed Davis was a beast on the boards, scoring 13 points and adding 14 rebounds. Jordan Hill chipped in 16 points and six rebounds.
Nick Young was a non-factor coming off the bench with just three points. It wasn't his finest showing, per Mike Trudell of Lakers.com:
The pregame announcement that Bryant wouldn't play put a damper on the matchup before it even started. The forthcoming superstar didn't exactly beat around the bush when questioned about the decision, however, as SportsCenter on Twitter posted:
David Aldridge of NBA.com passed along more from Bryant:
Of course, even had Bryant been able to play, the Lakers probably would have been in trouble. The Bulls have now won five in a row and at the moment look like the Eastern Conference's best team. Their balance makes them particularly dangerous, as Kelly Scaletta of Bleacher Report noted:
So does their depth, as Trudell wrote:
In the end, the disparity of talent between these teams was quite evident, as Kevin Ding of Bleacher Report tweeted:
While the Bulls controlled much of the game, the Lakers did trim the deficit to 81-77 with 20 seconds remaining in the third quarter. The Bulls promptly outscored them 32-16 the rest of the way.
If the Bulls can remain healthy and keep Rose on the court, they look like one of the true contenders to win the NBA title this season. Gasol and Joakim Noah give them one of the league's truly dangerous frontcourts, a healthy Rose is a superstar and the team has very good depth. Chicago will be a tough out if it can keep everyone on the floor.
For the Lakers, meanwhile, the countdown is on to the NBA draft lottery. They simply aren't a good team, and it doesn't particularly matter whether Bryant is playing at this point. Their performance on Christmas further proved what most folks knew about the Lakers already—their season is lost.
