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.
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 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.
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.
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.
