Chicago Bulls @ Los Angeles Lakers
Saturday, March 22, 2025 at 10:30 PM ET
Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, CA | Game ID: 22401028
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
LAL 31 31 27 26 115CHI 32 33 39 42 146
ESPN UpdateESPN Update
LeBron James' return from injury spoiled by Bulls' phenomenal effort in 146-115 win over Lakers
LOS ANGELES -- — Coby White scored 36 points, Josh Giddey flirted with a quadruple-double and the Chicago Bulls wrecked LeBron James ' return from injury with an impressive 146-115 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday night.
Luka Doncic scored 29 of his 34 points in the first half and hit eight 3-pointers, while James had 17 points after a seven-game absence .
Neither superstar could do a thing to slow the Bulls, who scorched Los Angeles' normally sturdy defense on the way to their seventh win in nine games. Chicago's 146 points were 12 more than the Lakers had allowed in any game this season.
Matas Buzelis scored 31 points for Chicago, and Giddey recorded 15 points, 17 assists, 10 rebounds and eight steals. White was dominant while hitting six 3-pointers, and eight Bulls scored at least nine points on the fifth stop of a six-game road trip.
Austin Reaves scored 25 points for LA.
Rui Hachimura made his own return from a 12-game absence with a knee injury, making the Lakers' roster largely whole — but Los Angeles then played perhaps its worst defensive game.
Takeaways Bulls: One of their best performances of the season, particularly in their fifth road game in eight nights while playing without injured starter Tre Jones . Chicago is looking more like a postseason threat.
Lakers: An exhausting two weeks ended discouragingly. James missed two weeks with a strained left groin, and Los Angeles clearly needs time to get back to its pre-injury form.
Key moment Reaves and Doncic kept it close through halftime, but White scored 12 points while Chicago steadily pulled away with a 39-point third quarter.
Key stat Doncic scored at least 29 points for the ninth time in his last 11 games.
Up next On Monday, the Bulls finish their trip in Denver and the Lakers begin a four-game trip in Orlando.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
LALAL A. Len
AR A. Reaves
BJ B. James
DF D. Finney-Smith
DK D. Knecht
DO Doncic
GV G. Vincent
JG J. Goodwin
JH J. Hayes
JV J. Vanderbilt
LD L. Dončić
LJ L. James
MM M. Morris
RH R. Hachimura
SM S. Milton
CHICW C. White
DT D. Terry
JC J. Carter
JG J. Giddey
JP J. Phillips
JS J. Smith
KH K. Huerter
MB M. Buzelis
NV N. Vučević
PW P. Williams
TH T. Horton-Tucker
VU Vucevic
ZC Z. Collins
LAL/CHI the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur