LOS ANGELES— The Lakers pick up a much needed victory over the Chicago Bulls 141-132 behind 29 points from D’Angelo Russell before the team hit the road for their yearly Grammy road trip.
Russell shot 10 for 17 from the field while knocking down eight 3-pointers.
Even with trade rumors swirling, Russell has played his best ball of the season these last ten games averaging 23 points, 6.6 assists while shooting 51.3% from the filed and 46.6% from three.
“My confidence is through the roof, and I’m going to keep it there,” Russell said. “I just try to complement Bron and AD. I know they can get us out of games single-handedly, so just try to complement them, if that’s me shooting or facilitating.”
LeBron James picked up his 558th double-double of his career finishing the game with 25 points and 12 assists.
Hours before the game James was named to his record 20th NBA All-Star team.
“We’re just playing the right way,” James said. “Guys are feeling very comfortable out there. We’ve got guys that can make shots. We’ve got guys that can make plays. Doesn’t matter who’s shooting.”
Four of the Lakers’ starters scored 20 or more points and seven players scored double figures.
After a back and forth first quarter, the purple & gold dominated the second period outscoring the Bulls 42-25. Los Angeles led 73-57 at the half.
The Lakers led by as much as 24 points in this contest. Chicago tried to make a run in the fourth quarter but it wasn’t enough.
With this victory, the Lakers have won six of their last ten games including impressive wins over the Los Angeles Clippers, Oklahoma City Thunder and the Dallas Mavericks.
The Lakers will now spend the next two weeks on a six-game road trip while the Grammy Awards take over their arena.
