Although the Los Angeles Lakers fought hard on Sunday against the Chicago Bulls, they ultimately fell 115-110 as DeMar DeRozan carried the Bulls in crunch time.
Lakers forward Carmelo Anthony couldn’t help but give DeRozan credit for his midrange magic.
Carmelo on DeMar DeRozan's success in the 4th qtr: "The fact that he utilizes the midrange. I know a lot of people want to discredit that part of the game, but I think that's a lost art. I think the midrange game is a lost art and DeMar is one of the guys who mastered that."
— Ryan Ward (@RyanWardLA) December 20, 2021
Anthony himself had a decent game, scoring 21 points while hitting 5-of-12 from 3-point range.
LeBron James and Russell Westbrook also did plenty to give L.A. a chance to win.
But in the end, it was too much DeRozan.
He ended up with 38 points, and he also killed the Lakers at the free-throw line, hitting 16-of-17 from the charity stripe.
The Lakers shot much better than the Bulls overall from the field, but they had 19 turnovers to just 10 for Chicago, which may have been the deciding factor.
L.A. was playing very shorthanded. Anthony Davis is out for the next several weeks with a sprained MCL, while several other players are in the NBA’s health and safety protocols.
The novel coronavirus pandemic surge even got head coach Frank Vogel, as he was unable to be on the bench on Sunday after being put in health and safety protocols himself.
The Lakers have a tough week ahead with contests against the Phoenix Suns and Brooklyn Nets beckoning.
