Bulls rally in second half to beat Lakers

Coming off games of 53 and 45 points, Bryant was held to 19 points on 6-of-19 from the floor. Bryant’s struggles had plenty to do with the defense of Chris Duhon, who also scored 11 points with six rebounds and six assists.

Bryant missed all five three-point attempts, as the club managed to make only 3-of-19 from long distance. The Lakers have lost three of four.

Ben Gordon, coming off the bench as the sixth man, poured in 22 points while Michael Sweetney chipped in 11. Ben Wallace had a full stat sheet with nine rebounds, seven assists and three blocks to go along with four points.

Chicago has won five in a row and 12 of its last 13.

Kwame Brown totaled 18 points and 12 rebounds while Smush Parker chipped in 16 points in defeat.

The Bulls used a brief 8-2 scoring stretch during the fourth stanza to take an 82-74 lead. Thabo Sefolosha’s reverse layup capped the stretch with 7:42 on the clock.

Brown’s layup with 2:45 remaining brought the Lakers within 87-84. However, Deng connected on a reverse layup then Sefolosha made a layup after Wallace swatted away a Brown attempt from in close.

Bryant fouled out with under one minute left, and the Bulls held on for the victory.

The Lakers scored the final eight points of the first quarter to take a 26-23 lead. Seven straight points in the second stanza gave the Lakers a 38-28 advantage. Andrew Bynum’s layup with 7:09 left in the period capped the burst.

Los Angeles led 48-42 at the half.

Game Notes

The game featured three ties and four lead changes...The Lakers blocked nine shots...Chicago improved to 11-2 on home, winning its fourth straight at the United Center...The Lakers are 3-5 on the road.