Rose, Gordon get offensive, but Bulls start trip with 'L'
Backcourt mates Rose, Gordon combine for 48 points, but Bulls can't control Lakers' Gasol inside
LOS ANGELES -- The Bulls again got strong scoring performances from Derrick Rose and Ben Gordon, but they couldn't manage steady contributions from just about anyone else.
Despite getting 48 points from their starting backcourt, the Bulls opened their annual mid-November road trip with a 116-109 loss Tuesday to the Los Angeles Lakers.
(Chris Sweda/Sun-Times)
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Lakers 116, Bulls 109
The story line: After battling the Lakers on Tuesday, the Bulls head to Portland, Ore., for another tough challenge against the up-and-coming Blazers. The Bulls also will get their first look at Greg Oden, the No. 1 pick in the 2007 draft, who missed all of last season with a knee injury.
John Jackson
Rose led the Bulls (5-6) with 25 points on 11-for-18 shooting and nine assists. Gordon added 23 points but was only 6-for-22 from the field. Pau Gasol led the Lakers (8-1) with 34 points, Kobe Bryant added 21 and Andrew Bynum had 18.
''We never had control of the game,'' Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro said. ''They jumped on us in the third quarter, like I knew they would. They tweaked their defense up and gave us some issues there.
''We had 21 turnovers, and that's not gonna be good enough against a team of this caliber.''
Since Gordon moved into the starting lineup five games ago, he and Rose have meshed well.
''I just think we're playing well together now, but I think there's so much more room for improvement,'' Gordon said before the game. ''We're only 10 games in, and I would imagine we're going to pick up and continue to learn more about each other's games.''
Rose agreed.
''We're learning each a bit more, but we still have a lot more games before we'll completely learn each other,'' he said. ''We're the type of players that learn from our mistakes, and we watch a lot of video. That's not gonna do nothing but make us better.''
For obvious reasons, Bryant was the Bulls' biggest concern before the game. But it was Gasol who proved to be a major headache for the Bulls' defense early on.
Gasol scored 18 points on 7-for-9 shooting in the first quarter, taking advantage of a host of defenders. Joakim Noah again started at center for the Bulls and made another quick exit after picking up two fouls in the first 3½ minutes.
Despite Gasol's onslaught, the score was tied at 36 with eight minutes left in the first half. That's when the Lakers went on a 21-4 run to open a 57-40 lead with four minutes left.
The Bulls, though, rallied to trim the deficit to 61-56 at halftime.
The Bulls were able to hang close for a while in the third quarter, but one had the feeling the Lakers were toying with them.
Bryant certainly toyed with the Bulls during one sequence in the third. He stole the ball and probably could have made a layup at the other end, but he passed up the shot to throw an alley-oop to Trevor Ariza that wasn't even close to resulting in a basket. It didn't matter, though, as Bryant got the ball in the corner and made a three-pointer.
The Lakers gradually stretched their lead throughout the third and took a 90-74 lead into the fourth.
The Bulls inched closer, though, and even forced Lakers coach Phil Jackson to put Bryant back into the game with about four minutes left. But the result was never in doubt.