Luka Doncic scores 46 points, makes eight threes as Lakers beat Bulls

CHICAGO- Luka Doncic jumped, wiggled and shot. The Lakers dunked, screamed and won.

Doncic dazzled once again with 46 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds in the Lakers’ 129-118 win over the Chicago Bulls on Monday. The Lakers (28-17) won their fourth victory in five games. It was his third game in the last four with at least 10 assists – all wins.

The 26-year-old guard scored 32 points in the second half. He imitated shooting a pistol after shooting a three-pointer. After another, late in the fourth, he moved back on defense away from the Bulls bench. Doncic’s second-half scoring barrage picked up after LeBron James scored 20 of his 24 points in the first half. Rui Hachimura added 23 points coming off the bench.

Hachimura, who has been coming off the bench since returning from a calf injury two weeks ago, made nine of 11 shots from the field, including four threes. He drained three straight drives, both spurred by passes from Doncic, in the third quarter to help the Lakers delay a Bulls comeback.

A transition dunk by Hachimura put the Lakers up 20 with 1:27 left in the first half. The Lakers, after battling airline delays departing from Dallas on Saturday night, appeared poised to comfortably pull out the win.

Then, Chicago closed the half with a score of 7-0. The score grew to 18-5, forcing coach JJ Redick to call a timeout when the Lakers’ lead was cut to seven. It fell to one with 6:42 left in the third quarter.

Lakers star LeBron James dives in front of Chicago Bulls guard Coby White in the first half on Monday.

(Nam Y. Huh / Associated Press)

The Lakers responded with an 8-0 run, capped by a three-point basket from Hachimura. Doncic threw a one-handed behind-the-back pass across the court to Gabe Vincent, who redirected it to Hachimura. He emptied the shot. On the Lakers’ next possession, he scored another three-pointer on an assist from Doncic.

Hachimura has made eight of 12 three-point attempts in the last two games.

The starting lineup could soon change again with Austin Reaves set to return from a calf injury that kept him out for more than a month. Redick said Reaves could be back as soon as Thursday’s game against Cleveland.