12/25: Christmas Day Matchup LAKERS @ Chicago Bulls Q-by-Q Reaction

Q4:

Score: LAL 93 CHI 113

Well, it was only a matter of time the Bulls were going to start dominating in crunch time. In the 3rd quarter, they've started to manhandle the Lakers in the paint and this quarter, the three ball started going in and the defensive activity of that team just got its switch flipped. In his first game out of a Lakers uniform, Pau Gasol got his former team big time. Good show of respect from Pau to walk over to Kobe and share a little embrace, but he did what needs to be done and get his new team a W. Stay tuned for the full recap.

Q3:

Score: LAL 77 CHI 83

I did say the Lakers were gonna have to pick it up offensively at some point and they did. First cutting the lead to four, then to two, then four again, now they just gotta find a way to try and capture the lead. However, the Bulls' size definitely hurt the Lakers this quarter. Pau Gasol has found the touch, scoring and rebounding and boy do we miss that in Laker land. Nonetheless, still a six point game and the Lakers are still hanging in there.

Q2:

Score: LAL 47 CHI 58

It would've been better if the Lakers just cut it to a single digit, but we'll live with that Jimmy Butler shot to end the quarter. Other than that, aside from the fact that the Bulls outperform the Lakers in the field goal department, the Lakers have done a good job responding. At first, the Bulls were up 38-52, looks like it's they're going to pull away, but the Lakers just keep scratching and clawing to make the Bulls' lead a lot more manageable. Onto the halftime report.

Q1:

Score: LAL 24 CHI 27

Great follow up from Wayne Ellington after a missed shot to end the quarter. So, the Lakers are playing without Kobe Bryant again and unlike the Warriors game, they were off to a slow start. Derrick Rose was hot early on till he started missing his next two shots, then Pau started to pick it up, but the Lakers keep fighting and managed to climb back to cut the Bulls' lead to three. So far, Gasol is getting the best of the Lakers while Boozer just came in and just only attempted one field goal against his former team in his return to Chicago.