LOS ANGELES -- — Coby White scored 36 points, Josh Giddey flirted with a quadruple-double and the Chicago Bulls wrecked LeBron James' return from injury with an impressive 146-115 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday night.

Luka Doncic scored 29 of his 34 points in the first half and hit eight 3-pointers, while James had 17 points after a seven-game absence.

Neither superstar could do a thing to slow the Bulls, who scorched Los Angeles' normally sturdy defense on the way to their seventh win in nine games. Chicago's 146 points were 12 more than the Lakers had allowed in any game this season.

Matas Buzelis scored 31 points for Chicago, and Giddey recorded 15 points, 17 assists, 10 rebounds and eight steals. White was dominant while hitting six 3-pointers, and eight Bulls scored at least nine points on the fifth stop of a six-game road trip.

Austin Reaves scored 25 points for LA.

Rui Hachimura made his own return from a 12-game absence with a knee injury, making the Lakers' roster largely whole — but Los Angeles then played perhaps its worst defensive game.

Takeaways

Bulls: One of their best performances of the season, particularly in their fifth road game in eight nights while playing without injured starter Tre Jones. Chicago is looking more like a postseason threat.

Lakers: An exhausting two weeks ended discouragingly. James missed two weeks with a strained left groin, and Los Angeles clearly needs time to get back to its pre-injury form.

Key moment

Reaves and Doncic kept it close through halftime, but White scored 12 points while Chicago steadily pulled away with a 39-point third quarter.

Key stat

Doncic scored at least 29 points for the ninth time in his last 11 games.

Up next

On Monday, the Bulls finish their trip in Denver and the Lakers begin a four-game trip in Orlando.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA

Play By Play

Recent plays and game events

TIME	PLAY
12:00	Nikola Vucevic vs. Jaxson Hayes (Luka Doncic gains possession)	0	0
11:44	Luka Doncic misses 25-foot three point jumper	0	0
11:40	Nikola Vucevic defensive rebound	0	0
11:29	Matas Buzelis misses 25-foot three point step back jumpshot	0	0
11:25	Luka Doncic defensive rebound	0	0
11:14	Dorian Finney-Smith misses 23-foot three point jumper	0	0
11:11	Nikola Vucevic defensive rebound	0	0
11:06	Nikola Vucevic makes 25-foot three point shot (Josh Giddey assists)	0	3
10:42	Jaxson Hayes makes 8-foot hook shot	2	3
10:42	Matas Buzelis shooting foul	2	3
10:42	Jaxson Hayes misses free throw 1 of 1	2	3
10:38	Nikola Vucevic defensive rebound	2	3
10:26	Josh Giddey misses 12-foot step back jumpshot	2	3
10:22	Luka Doncic defensive rebound	2	3
10:19	LeBron James makes two point shot (Luka Doncic assists)	4	3
10:02	Kevin Huerter misses 25-foot three point pullup jump shot	4	3
10:01	Lakers defensive team rebound	4	3
9:49	Luka Doncic bad pass (Nikola Vucevic steals)	4	3
9:44	Coby White makes two point shot	4	5
9:37	Jaxson Hayes makes 2-foot dunk (Luka Doncic assists)	6	5
9:27	Coby White makes 12-foot pullup jump shot	6	7
9:14	Luka Doncic makes 2-foot two point shot (Austin Reaves assists)	8	7
9:14	Bulls Full timeout	8	7
9:03	Josh Giddey bad pass (LeBron James steals)	8	7
8:57	Jaxson Hayes makes 2-foot dunk (LeBron James assists)	10	7
8:44	Coby White makes 12-foot two point shot (Matas Buzelis assists)	10	9
8:31	Luka Doncic misses driving layup	10	9
8:31	Luka Doncic offensive rebound	10	9
8:31	Josh Giddey shooting foul	10	9
8:31	Luka Doncic makes free throw 1 of 2	11	9
8:31	Luka Doncic makes free throw 2 of 2	12	9
8:17	Kevin Huerter misses 27-foot three point step back jumpshot	12	9
8:13	LeBron James defensive rebound	12	9
8:06	Jaxson Hayes misses alley oop dunk shot	12	9
8:03	Josh Giddey defensive rebound	12	9
7:58	Matas Buzelis misses 24-foot three point shot	12	9
7:54	Dorian Finney-Smith defensive rebound	12	9
7:47	Austin Reaves misses 23-foot three point jumper	12	9
7:44	Coby White defensive rebound	12	9
7:42	Jaxson Hayes shooting foul	12	9
7:42	Coby White misses free throw 1 of 2	12	9
7:42	Bulls offensive team rebound	12	9
7:42	Coby White makes free throw 2 of 2	12	10
7:18	Luka Doncic makes 17-foot two point shot	14	10
7:08	Matas Buzelis makes 2-foot driving dunk (Josh Giddey assists)	14	12
6:49	LeBron James misses 13-foot two point shot	14	12
6:47	Kevin Huerter defensive rebound	14	12
6:43	Josh Giddey makes two point shot	14	14
6:19	LeBron James misses two point shot	14	14
6:17	Nikola Vucevic defensive rebound	14	14
6:15	Coby White makes 25-foot three point shot (Josh Giddey assists)	14	17
5:56	Luka Doncic lost ball turnover (Josh Giddey steals)	14	17
5:54	Dorian Finney-Smith blocks Josh Giddey 's 3-foot two point shot	14	17
5:54	Bulls offensive team rebound	14	17
5:54	Rui Hachimura enters the game for LeBron James	14	17
5:54	Gabe Vincent enters the game for Jaxson Hayes	14	17
5:54	Dalen Terry enters the game for Matas Buzelis	14	17
5:54	Patrick Williams enters the game for Coby White	14	17
5:52	Nikola Vucevic misses 27-foot three point jumper	14	17
5:48	Luka Doncic defensive rebound	14	17
5:43	Austin Reaves makes 11-foot pullup jump shot	16	17
5:30	Josh Giddey misses layup	16	17
5:27	Luka Doncic defensive rebound	16	17
5:24	Luka Doncic misses 29-foot three point shot	16	17
5:18	Austin Reaves offensive rebound	16	17
5:17	Dorian Finney-Smith makes 1-foot dunk (Austin Reaves assists)	18	17
5:15	Luka Doncic personal foul	18	17
5:02	Nikola Vucevic makes 10-foot two point shot (Josh Giddey assists)	18	19
4:50	Dorian Finney-Smith misses 28-foot three point jumper	18	19
4:46	Patrick Williams defensive rebound	18	19
4:38	Josh Giddey misses driving floating jump shot	18	19
4:35	Josh Giddey offensive rebound	18	19
4:32	Dalen Terry misses 26-foot three point jumper	18	19
4:29	Josh Giddey offensive rebound	18	19
4:27	Kevin Huerter misses 25-foot three point jumper	18	19
4:22	Rui Hachimura defensive rebound	18	19
4:13	Luka Doncic makes 26-foot three point step back jumpshot	21	19
4:05	Patrick Williams makes 25-foot three pointer	21	22
3:51	Luka Doncic makes 27-foot three point step back jumpshot	24	22
3:28	Dalen Terry makes driving layup (Kevin Huerter assists)	24	24
3:28	Lakers Full timeout	24	24
3:28	Jarred Vanderbilt enters the game for Austin Reaves	24	24
3:28	Jordan Goodwin enters the game for Dorian Finney-Smith	24	24
3:28	Coby White enters the game for Josh Giddey	24	24
3:28	Zach Collins enters the game for Nikola Vucevic	24	24
3:28	Julian Phillips enters the game for Kevin Huerter	24	24
3:15	Gabe Vincent misses 27-foot three point jumper	24	24
3:13	Bulls defensive team rebound	24	24
2:55	Julian Phillips lost ball turnover (Rui Hachimura steals)	24	24
2:49	Jarred Vanderbilt bad pass (Dalen Terry steals)	24	24
2:36	Jarred Vanderbilt shooting foul	24	24
2:36	Coby White makes free throw 1 of 2	24	25
2:36	LeBron James enters the game for Gabe Vincent	24	25
2:36	Coby White misses free throw 2 of 2	24	25
2:33	LeBron James defensive rebound	24	25
2:23	Luka Doncic makes 25-foot three pointer	27	25
2:15	Julian Phillips misses 25-foot three point jumper	27	25
2:14	Lakers defensive team rebound	27	25
1:58	Jordan Goodwin misses 26-foot three point jumper	27	25
1:54	Coby White defensive rebound	27	25
1:50	Coby White makes two point shot	27	27
1:29	Rui Hachimura misses 25-foot three point jumper	27	27
1:25	Jordan Goodwin offensive rebound	27	27
1:24	Coby White shooting foul	27	27
1:24	Luka Doncic makes free throw 1 of 2	28	27
1:24	Luka Doncic makes free throw 2 of 2	29	27
1:13	Jarred Vanderbilt personal foul	29	27
1:13	Austin Reaves enters the game for Luka Doncic	29	27
1:00	Dalen Terry makes 2-foot two point shot	29	29
42.1	Zach Collins blocks Jarred Vanderbilt 's 3-foot layup	29	29
39.1	Patrick Williams defensive rebound	29	29
37.1	Coby White misses running pullup jump shot	29	29
37.1	Jordan Goodwin defensive rebound	29	29
37.1	Dalen Terry personal foul	29	29
37.1	Jordan Goodwin makes free throw 1 of 2	30	29
37.1	Jordan Goodwin makes free throw 2 of 2	31	29
30.1	Coby White makes 25-foot three point step back jumpshot	31	32
11.1	Austin Reaves misses 27-foot three point jumper	31	32
10.1	Coby White defensive rebound	31	32
5.0	Coby White misses running pullup jump shot	31	32
0.2	Lakers defensive team rebound	31	32
0.2	Luka Doncic enters the game for Jarred Vanderbilt	31	32
0.2	LeBron James out of bounds bad pass turnover	31	32
0.2	Jarred Vanderbilt enters the game for Luka Doncic	31	32
0.1	Patrick Williams misses 26-foot three point shot	31	32
0.0	Bulls offensive team rebound	31	32
0.0	End of the 1st Quarter	31	32

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Game Information

Time, Location & Referees

Venue

crypto.com Arena

Los Angeles, CA

Date & Time

2:30 AM, March 23, 2025

Coverage

Spectrum Sports Net, Spectrum Sports Net +, CHSN, NBA League Pass

Attendance

18,997

Referees

Courtney Kirkland, Jason Goldenberg, J.T. Orr

2025-26 Central Standings

TEAM	W	L	PCT	STRK
Detroit	44	14	.759	W2
Cleveland	37	24	.607	L2
Milwaukee	26	32	.448	L1
Chicago	24	36	.400	L11
Indiana	15	45	.250	L5

2025-26 Pacific Standings

TEAM	W	L	PCT	STRK
LA Lakers	35	24	.593	W1
Phoenix	34	26	.567	W1
Golden State	31	29	.517	L1
LA Clippers	27	31	.466	L3
Sacramento	14	47	.230	W1

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LeBron James' return from injury spoiled by Bulls' phenomenal effort in 146-115 win over Lakers

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