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Luka Doncic puts on 46-point show as Lakers beat Bulls

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CHICAGO — Luka Doncic was in the zone – again.

Doncic had 46 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds, and the Lakers cooled off the Chicago Bulls with a 129-118 victory on Monday night, their fourth win in five games.

LeBron James scored 20 of his 24 points in the first half as the Lakers improved to 3-1 on their eight-game Grammy trip. Rui Hachimura added 23 points on 9-for-11 shooting (4 for 5 from 3-point range).

“Just a really good job from our guys tonight,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “We executed well offensively. Luka and LeBron, they took shots and they scored, but their patience to just pass and make the right play was really good. Whether it was Rui, Jake (LaRavia) in the first half, DA (Deandre Ayton) on the roll, Jaxson (Hayes) on the roll. They just made a lot of really good simple plays. … Another game where we get 25-plus assists and were able to take care of the basketball.”

Coby White scored 23 points for Chicago, and Ayo Dosunmu had 20. The Bulls had won four in a row and five of six overall.

The Lakers led by as many as 20 points, but Chicago scored 24 of the first 36 points in the third quarter to whittle a 13-point halftime deficit to one. Nikola Vucevic swished a pair of free throws at the 6:42 mark to draw the Bulls within 81-80, but the Lakers quickly regrouped.

Marcus Smart responded with a three-point play to spark an 8-0 run. Doncic then made two free throws and Hachimura connected from deep to make it 89-80 with 4:38 left.

Doncic made a 3-pointer and another foul shot to propel the Lakers to a 104-89 lead going into the fourth. Doncic scored 20 points in the third on 6-for-9 shooting.

Hayes, perhaps inspired by Doncic’s behind-the-back passes and flash throughout the game, stole the ball and drove coast-to-coast for a between-the-legs dunk with 2:55 left to put a final exclamation point on the win.

The Lakers shot 56% (46 for 82) from the field, including a 16-for-33 performance from 3-point range.

Doncic, the NBA’s leading scorer at 33.8 points per game, shot an efficient 15 for 25 from the field for the night (8 for 14 from behind the arc) while getting his teammates engaged.

“He has a really good sense of, if they’re blitzing me in pick and roll to be that facilitator,” Redick said. “Him and I are starting to get that good feel for when he needs to get off ball. When he’s on ball and he’s having to make a lot of plays, that can tax you. He was great off ball, he was great on ball, he was great in the post. He had his whole game working tonight.”

And he did it with plenty of crowd-pleasing creativity.

“He’s an engine that’s fully on,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “And he likes to create out there, and that’s a part of what makes him a great player. … Not to say it doesn’t test your patience at times, but you have to be willing to live with some of the stuff that he tries, because more often than not, you’re going to get a great result.”

Hachimura said Redick’s recent challenge to Doncic and James to trust their teammates more has resulted in better ball movement.

“They took it in a good way and that’s what they’ve been doing,” Hachimura said of Redick’s message. “And then, we’re winning. And then everybody gets touches and everybody shares a ball. It’s fun. That’s how basketball should be.”

Chicago shot 18 for 49 from 3-point range – and has made at least 17 3s in its last five games – but missed 16 of its last 18 attempts.

The Bulls had six players score in double figures. Vucevic had 18 points and 11 rebounds, and Josh Giddey finished with 19 points and seven assists.

The Lakers moved in front with a 25-6 run that started late in the first quarter and carried over to the second. James’ fast-break dunk made it 51-37 with 7:19 left.

The Bulls closed the first half with a 7-0 spurt, trimming the Lakers’ lead to 69-56. Doncic had 17 points and eight assists in the first half.

The Lakers’ Drew Timme sustained an injury to his right eye when Dosunmu was whistled for an offensive foul after elbowing him in the face early in the second quarter. Officials reviewed the play for a possible flagrant foul, but it was ruled a common foul. Timme was cleared to return but remained on the bench.

The Lakers were swept by Chicago in their two-game series last season, including a wild 119-117 loss at the United Center on Giddey’s half-court shot at the buzzer.

DONCIC GETS PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONOR

Doncic was named the Western Conference Player of the Week on Monday for games played from Monday, Jan. 19 through Sunday. The honor marks his second as a Laker and the 16th weekly award of his career.

Doncic delivered three 30-point performances, including one triple-double and two double-doubles, during the three-game stretch. The 26-year-old Slovenian star averaged 34.3 points on 49.2% shooting from the field, 10.7 rebounds, 9.7 assists and 2.0 steals in 38 minutes per game.

Doncic opened the week last Tuesday with a 38-point, 13-rebound, 10-assist triple-double to go with two steals in 36 minutes in a 115-107 road win against the Denver Nuggets. It was the 52nd 30-point triple-double of his career and his fourth this season, making him just the third player in Lakers history to achieve at least four in a single campaign, joining LeBron James and Magic Johnson.

In a road loss to the Clippers last Thursday in Inglewood, Doncic had 32 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists and three steals. He closed the week with a 33-point, 11-assist double-double to go with eight rebounds in a 116-110 victory over the Mavericks on Saturday night in Dallas.

UP NEXT

The Lakers play at Cleveland on Wednesday at 4 p.m. PT.