Anthony Davis scored a season-high 37 points against his hometown team, LeBron James added 17 points and 11 rebounds and the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Chicago Bulls 101-90 on Saturday.
The defending NBA champions improved to 9-0 on the road and remains only unbeaten team on the road while holding league-best 13-4 record overall.
Davis scored 26 points in the highest scoring half by a Laker this season as Los Angeles grabbed a 63-33 lead. The seven-time All-Star made shot 14 of 21, nailing two 3-pointers, and grabbed six rebounds.
James, coming off a season-high 34-point outing in a win at Milwaukee two nights earlier, had six assists and six turnovers. And the Lakers won their eighth in a row against Chicago.
The Bulls had won three in a row and matched a franchise record by scoring 115 or more in seven straight games. But against No.1 defense team in Los Angeles, they struggled for much of the game.
Zach LaVine led Chicago with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Coby White added 14 points and seven rebounds.
The Lakers held off the Bulls 117-115 in Los Angeles two weeks earlier with Davis and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope missing the game because of injuries. Los Angeles wasted no time burying taking control in this one.
Davis set the tone as the Lakers raced out to a 20-6 lead. He scored 13 of Los Angeles’ first 16 points, with three dunks in that stretch.
Davis also made two 3-pointers late in the half, including one in the closing minute to make it 61-31. And after Chicago’s Coby White hit a pull-up jumper, Dennis Schroder drove for a layup to bump the lead back to 30.
The Bulls went on a 14-2 run late in the third quarter to pull within 79-66. But back-to-back baskets by Davis made it a 17-point game heading to the fourth.
Lakers Davis’ previous season high was 34 points against San Antonio on Jan. 1. He scored a career-high 59 for New Orleans at Detroit on Feb. 21, 2016.
F Jared Dudley (sore right calf) remains a ”game or two” away from returning from an injury that has kept him out the past seven, coach Frank Vogel said.
Bulls Coach Billy Donovan said C Wendell Carter Jr. (quad) is improving, though he’s not sure if he’ll be available Monday against Boston after missing the past two games. ”He’s made progress. He is feeling better,” Donovan said. The Bulls also held out Otto Porter Jr. after he played the previous night at Charlotte.
COMINGUP NEXT
- The Lakers visit Cleveland on Monday, their third in a seven-game trip.
- Chicago hosts Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum and the Celtics
