Lakers Beat Bulls 98-91, Shannon Brown Hits 21 Off Bench

The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Chicago Bulls 98-91 behind a 21-point effort from Lakers guard Shannon Brown off the bench.  Brown would hit 5-of-10 from three-point range and kept the Lakers in the game when their offense sputtered.

“It’s the confidence, it’s the continuous reps, knowing the system, and where my shots are going to come from,” said Brown regarding his improved play thus far this season.

After tonight’s performance, Brown is now close to averaging 12 points per game off the Lakers bench, which is almost 4 points per game higher than his average the previous season.

After dropping two straight, the Lakers went 4-0 prior to tonight’s contest, which includes sweeping a three-game road trek through Milwaukee, Detroit, and Minnesota before coming back home to give Golden State a 117-89 flogging.  In those four games, Los Angeles dominated their opponents, winning by an average margin of 17.3 points.

While the Lakers have a league-best 112.5 points per game, they were facing a stingy Chicago team who has held seven of their 11 opponents under 100 points so far this season.  Add one more team to that impressive stat after holding the Lakers to 98 points tonight—much credit goes to first year head coach Tom Thibodeau, a defensive architect whose game plan must have included stifling Pau Gasol, who only had 12 points off 3-for-10 shooting.

“They work hard,” said Lakers head coach Phil Jackson, who won six championships as coach of the Chicago Bulls.  “They have an idea of what they want to do defensively.”

Throughout the game, the Bulls were breaking up passes, stripping balls, contesting shots, and doing what was necessary to disrupt the Lakers offense.  The Lakers were only 35 percent from the field at the end of the first quarter, but the score was tied at 26.

Shannon Brown would be the sparkplug in the second quarter, providing instant offense to help ignite an 8-2 run, which put the Lakers up 33-28.  He would finish the half with 18 points, but Derrick Rose’s 16 points put the Bulls within striking distance, 51-49, at the half.

“He was remarkable,” said Coach Jackson regarding Shannon Brown’s first half performance.  “He had a terrific half; he helped keep us in the ballgame.”

An 8-0 run to start the second half put the Lakers up 59-49, but the Bulls charged back after an offensive put-back by Joakim Noah brought them to within four at the 4:52 mark of the third quarter.  Rose’s 11-point quarter would eventually help bring the Bulls to within a point heading into the final quarter of play.

The Bulls would quickly take the lead off a shot by Taj Gibson to start the fourth quarter until Lamar Odom picked up a Lakers shot that caromed off the rim and stuffed it back with enthusiasm to put his team back up 77-75.  A 16-2 Lakers run capped off by a Steve Blake three-pointer put them up 95-83 with just under five minutes remaining.  This provided enough breathing room for the Lakers to earn their fifth straight win and improve their record to 13-2.

Kobe Bryant had 20 points and Lamar Odom contributed 21 points and 8 rebounds in the victory.  Gasol had 11 rebounds and 5 blocks to go with his 12 points.

Fifth best scorer in the league, Derrick Rose, bobbed and weaved through the Lakers defense with the fleetest of foot en route to 30 points and 8 assists.

Joakim Noah, second best in the league in rebounds per game, had 13 to go with his 19 points.  Noah also had a good defensive stat line with 3 blocks and 4 steals.

With the Lakers and Bulls being two of the top three rebounding teams in the league, the battle would be won by Chicago, 46-38, but it did not help their cause after getting outscored 24-18 in the final quarter.

On Friday, Lakers will travel to Salt Lake City and take on Deron Williams and the Utah Jazz at 6:00 p.m. PT.