Bulls rally in second half to beat Lakers

Dec 20, 2006, 4:50 GMT

Chicago, IL - Luol Deng scored 23 points, four more than superstar Kobe Bryant, and the Chicago Bulls used a big second half to down the Los Angeles Lakers, 94-89, at the United Center.

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.

'He didn't show it if he was frustrated or not,' said Duhon. 'We did a great job on him. Thabo's (Sefolosha) length gave him some problems. Thabo and I did a good job pressuring him. We made him put the ball on the floor and work to get his shot off.'

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.

'I thought their bench came in and saved the day for the Bulls,' said Lakers coach Phil Jackson. 'That and our three-point shooting did us in.'

The Bulls used a brief 8-2 scoring stretch during the fourth stanza to take an 82-74 lead. 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.

© 2006 The Sports Network