By defeating Oklahoma City on Friday, the Los Angeles Lakers reached the.500 mark for the first time in 14 months.
If they beat the visiting Chicago Bulls on Sunday, they would improve their position in the race for the Western Conference playoffs and boost morale during a crucial time when star player LeBron James was injured.
With eight games remaining in the regular season, Los Angeles (37-37) was the eighth seed in the West going into Saturday. The team’s optimism is growing.
Even though Chicago (35-38) hasn’t been above.500 since Nov. 2, when they were 5-4, the Bulls are now in a good position to participate in the Eastern Conference play-in tournament.
Friday, Chicago won 124-96 over Portland to kick off a three-game road trip and claim its sixth victory in eight games. The Bulls held a 2 1/2-game lead over the final play-in spot and were in control of 10th place in the East going into Saturday.
On Friday, Nikola Vucevic had a double-double of 23 points and 15 rebounds, while Zach LaVine led the Bulls with 33 points and eight assists. DeMar DeRozan, Chicago’s leading scorer, was out with a strained right quadriceps, but the Bulls had plenty of other options against a Portland team that was without four starters because of injuries.
Set for the finale of a five-game homestand, the Lakers have won three straight, with the beyond two coming against individual Western Meeting season finisher competitors.
Anthony Davis scored 37 points and grabbed 15 rebounds in Friday’s victory over the Thunder, two days after beating the Phoenix Suns. Lonnie Walker IV had 20 points and Schroder scored 13 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter.
Walker, who had been healthy for three games prior to Friday, welcomed the opportunity to play more minutes as the Lakers dealt with injuries to James (foot) and D’Angelo Russell (hip). Since James left, Los Angeles has gone 8-5.
The Bulls and Lakers will meet again on Wednesday in Chicago to conclude their season series. Last season, the Bulls defeated the Lakers in both games, ending the Lakers’ three-game winning streak in the series.
Last season, DeRozan scored 38.0 points per game on the Lakers. Vucevic has posted a twofold in four of the beyond five gatherings.
