INGLEWOOD, Calif. – — Zach LaVine scored a game-high 35 points to help the Chicago Bulls pick up a 112-99 road win against the Clippers on Monday night.
The Clippers (24-18) struggled to contain the former UCLA Bruin as he shot 11-for-21 from the field and 8-for-10 from the charity stripe.
Norman Powell scored 27 points to lead the Clippers and James Harden added 17 points & 10 assists. The two potential All Stars combined to shoot just 14-for-39 shooting from the field in the loss.
Los Angeles was shorthanded as they played without forward Kawhi Leonard (rest) and center Ivica Zubac (eye).
“You know, with [Ivica Zubac] out, having to play small, you know, they beat us up on the glass a little bit as well,” coach Tyronn Lue said. “But, you know, I knew it coming into the game, like I said, they were going to play hard and they lost, what, five in a row or six in a row.They were thirsty for a win, you know, and so they came in, they attacked us.”
The Clippers led 50-48 at the half but didn’t have enough to keep up with the Bulls starting in the third quarter. Chicago outscored Los Angeles 36-to-16 in the quarter with the Bulls ending the quarter on a 30-to-9 run.
Los Angeles tried to make a run late by cutting the lead to nine when Derrick Jones knocked down a free throw with 3:24 remaining in the final quarter. LaVine and the Bulls made big shots late to put the game out of reach for the Clippers.
“Only positive thing that we can figure out of tonight is not really apositive. I think it’s just a learningexperience for us honestly. How we can get better on back to backs especially,” Powell said after the loss. “We got to figure out, each individual, everybody step up on the floor howwe can come out with a winning mindset. Push through the fatigue and find a way to play with energy forthe full 48.”
The loss tonight ended the Clippers four-game winning streak.
Los Angeles will get a day off before a big time matchup at home against the defending champion, Boston Celtics, on Wednesday night.
