Los Angeles Lakers stars Lonzo Ball and Julius Randle were instrumental in the team’s comeback win Tuesday night against the Chicago Bulls. The Bulls, a team with just three wins out of 14 games this season, were able to take a 14-point lead into halftime and led by as much as 19 at one point in the game. However, Los Angeles shook off a disappointing first half and were able to rally back with a 31-19 finish in the fourth quarter for the big win at Staples Center. Here’s the latest on rookie Lonzo Ball and his teammate Julius Randle’s contributions to the victory.
Per ESPN’s game report , Lonzo Ball didn’t quite achieve a triple-double or even a double-double. The Lakers’ rookie point guard played 32 minutes and shot just 3-for-13 from the field, finishing with eight points. Six of those points came from the two three-point shots he hit. Ball didn’t have more than four assists but had a team-high 13 rebounds in the win. As some analysts mentioned with Ball ahead of his entry to the NBA, he would often be able to contribute to the team in ways beyond just scoring, and did just that on Tuesday.
#LakeShow chipping away at the lead pic.twitter.com/MEw5L1GueA
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) November 22, 2017
After the game, Ball was happy with the team’s overall performance.
“Anytime you go out there and compete, and you look to your right and your left and everybody is competing as hard as you are, that’s a great feeling.”
Teammate Julius Randle doesn’t start for the Lakers, but he certainly makes a statement off the bench. That was the case on Tuesday night as Randle had 28 minutes of game time. The power forward ended up with 10 points on 4-for-10 shooting and also grabbed 10 rebounds to finish with a double-double in the victory. That was his second double-double of the latest season and 54th in Randle’s career thus far.
? Lonzo Ball speaks following the Lakers win over Chicago pic.twitter.com/YS0IAVdEJ3
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) November 22, 2017
After the game, Ball spoke about his teammates Julius Randle and Josh Hart in terms of their contribution to the win.
“You know Ju he’s been playing well, especially as of lately, but he’s been doing it all year and Josh fresh off of G-League came right back and didn’t miss a beat.”
Leading the way for the Lakers in their 103-94 win was Lonzo Ball’s fellow rookie Kyle Kuzma. He ended up with 22 points in the win. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope had 21 points in the game with 11 of those coming in the final quarter, while Brandon Ingram had 17 points, five boards, and five assists.
? Lakers battle back tonight to win consecutive home games, beating the Bulls, 103-94 #LakersWin pic.twitter.com/cEtMeH95ML
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) November 22, 2017
The win moves L.A. to 8-10 for the season. Next up for the Los Angeles Lakers will be a game on Wednesday night featured on ESPN as they take on the Sacramento Kings at 10:30 p.m. Eastern Time.
[Featured Image by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images]