Lakers lose to Bulls on half-court buzzer beater

The Lakers snatched defeat from the jaws of victory on Thursday, giving away a game against the Bulls that ended on a half-court game-winner from Josh Giddey.

For the second time inside of a week, the Lakers fell to a Bulls team well under .500, losing on Thursday, 119-117, this time on a half-court buzzer beater from Josh Giddey.

An inexplicable ending to the game featured the Lakers giving away a five-point lead with 12 seconds remaining in just a matter of six seconds. After Austin Reaves put them back ahead by one, Giddey buried a shot from half-court to win the game.

Reaves notched 30 points with three assists. Luka Dončić had a slower start to his offense with nine points in the first half, but picked it up in the second half and ended with 25 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and a block. LeBron James ended with 17 points, five rebounds and 12 assists.

Jaxson Hayes pitched in with a season-high 19 points and eight rebounds. Gabe Vincent and Jordan Goodwin had eight points apiece off the bench.

Chicago capitalized on Los Angeles’ early missed shots, opening the game by scoring five straight points. Josh Giddey and Nikola Vučević combined for nine of the Bulls’ first 16 points, setting the tone offensively. Out of a timeout, Austin responded with a smooth jumper in the paint.

LeBron had another slow offensive start, missing three of his first four shot attempts. He did, however, throw down a monster slam off an assist from Luka. LA’s defense once again struggled as they continued to let the Bulls find some great open shots.

The hosts pushed the pace, forcing the Lakers to improve their defensive effort. Though the margin remained close, Chicago held the edge in the paint, outscoring LA 10-8 with under three minutes left in the quarter.

Los Angeles’ interior defense was nonexistent and it led to Coby White taking the ball to the basket for the easiest layup of his life without a single defender in sight. At the end of the first, the purple and gold were down 10.

Zach Collins started the second quarter with an easy layup with LA’s interior defense still failing them. Austin scored seven points for the Lakers early to help cut the deficit closer. A glimpse of showtime happened when Austin passed to LeBron, who dazzled with a no-look dime to Jarred Vanderbilt for a dunk.

LA allowed Josh Giddey to cook them again by scoring in double figures and dishing dimes all over the court.

What was once a two-point deficit was extended to a five-point lead for the Bulls. Jordan, who was officially given a standard NBA contract earlier in the day, provided great energy and defense for the Lakers.

Luka connected with Jaxson, who dunked yet again. Jaxson also converted on a jump hook, making it a two-point deficit for the Lakeshow. The Lakers started swarming defensively in the paint, making the Bulls have to fight harder for their shots.

Fueled by a 9-2 run, highlighted by six points from LeBron and a clutch three-pointer from Gabe, the Lakers surged ahead to take a one-point lead into halftime.

The Lakers started the second half with excellent offense. Luka finally saw the ball go through the hoop on a 3-pointer after stealing the ball on the other end. A baseline dunk by Austin forced the Bulls to call a timeout.

LA’s lead was up to eight with them building on the momentum they developed in the first half. Giddey, who had only scored on two free throws early in the quarter, drained a 3-pointer that Chicago needed.

Austin scored five points to help give the Lakers a cushion. LA’s defense had Chicago scrambling, forcing rushed passes and missed shots. Though Luka continued to struggle with his shot, he delivered a great assist to LeBron for a slam.

Luka started heating up with five straight points. Jordan’s 3-pointer gave the Lakers their largest lead of the night, extending the margin to 15 points.

LA continued to dominate the rest of the quarter, with Luka and Jordan sinking 3-pointers to push the lead to 16.

Vando started the final frame by scoring five straight points. Chicago kicked up their energy and started making more shots. A pair of threes from Kevin Huerter and Coby White ratcheted up the intensity.

LA’s once comfortable 16-point lead had vanished with an 11-1 scoring run by the Bulls.

An atrocious possession out of a timeout for the Lakers turned into a 3-pointer from White on the other end. Luka scored on a midrange shot in the paint to stop some of the bleeding. Austin drained a big-time 3-pointer to give even more of a cushion on the fragile LA lead.

Chicago had back-to-back turnovers that furthered this run for the Lakers. They had gone up by 13 until the Bulls scored eight straight and made it a game again. LeBron took the ball to the basket on a spin move and scored.

Vučević scored a big-time 3-pointer, helping the Bulls stay close. Jaxson tipped in a missed Luka 3-pointer. With 45 seconds left, it was a one-point game after a 3-pointer from Huerter.

Austin scored on a layup off the glass to push LA’s lead to three with 26 seconds left. The Lakers nearly gave up an easy layup, but instead of taking a 3-pointer, White passed to Giddey who shot a hilarious airball. Reaves converted on a pair of free throws with 12 seconds left to put the Lakers up five.

In possibly the most insane sequence ever, Patrick Williams drained a 3-pointer and Giddey then stole the ball on the in-bounds, leading to a 3-pointer by White to put the Bulls up by one.

Austin scored a clutch layup, but in yet another insane moment, Giddey drained a 3-pointer from midcourt to win the game.

Key Takeaways:

What the heck?

The Lakers’ next matchup is against the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday at 5:00 PM PT.

You can follow Karin on Twitter at @KarinAbcarians.