Lakers beat Bulls in battle of mediocre teams

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Brandon Ingram scored 25 points, including eight in the final 3:18, and the Los Angeles Lakers rallied late for a 108-103 victory over the Bulls after losing a 12-point, fourth-quarter lead.Jordan Clarkson had 19 points and Brook Lopez added 17 for the Lakers, who have won four straight and eight of 10. Six of the eight wins were at home.Los Angeles trailed 95-92 with less than four minutes to play before Ingram – who also had nine rebounds and was 10 for 18 from the field – started the rally with a pair of free throws.Nikola Mirotic scored 14 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter, and Denzel Valentine and Bobby Portis had 16 apiece for the Bulls who have dropped three straight.

”We did not get off to a good start tonight,” coach Fred Hoiberg said. ”Our grit, toughness wasn’t there. Give our guys credit for continuing to fight. Our second unit got us back into that game and got us back in it again in the fourth after falling behind double digits.”

Los Angeles led by as much as 17 in the first half before the Bulls rallied to tie the score at 68 early in the third quarter. The Lakers, though, answered with 11 straight points and led 84-72 entering the fourth.The Bulls rallied again and took a 92-90 lead with 5 1/2 minutes remaining on Valentine’s 3-pointer. It was Chicago’s first lead since 3-2. Mirotic hit a 3-pointer to give the Bulls the 95-92 lead before Los Angeles took control.Ingram’s free throws started a 13-2 run that sealed the win. Rookie G Lonzo Ball missed his sixth straight game with a sore left knee. The second overall pick is averaging 10.2 points, 7.1 rebounds and 7.1 assists.Zach LaVine, playing in just his seventh game of the season following ACL surgery last February, played a season-high 26 minutes. His minutes restriction was lifted to 26-28 minutes before the game .The Bulls were 17 for 36 on 3-pointers and now have made at least 10 3s in each of its last 11 home games.Kris Dunn missed his fourth straight game with a concussion, and it’s unclear when he might return.