BULLS 113, LAKERS 93
CHICAGO -- Pau Gasol had 23 points and 13 rebounds against his former team and the Chicago Bulls beat Los Angeles 113-93 on Thursday night with Lakers star Kobe Bryant resting his sore body.
Jimmy Butler added 21 points, and Derrick Rose had 20 points and six assists to help the Bulls win their season-high fifth consecutive game.
With Bryant missing his second consecutive game, the Lakers were unable to pull off another upset. They stunned Golden State on Tuesday night but came up short against the Central division leaders.
The Bulls hung on after a 16-point second-quarter lead dwindled to two in the third. They pulled away in the fourth, sending the Lakers to their fourth loss in five games.
Gasol, a two-time champion in six-plus seasons with the Lakers, was 9 of 14 from the field in his first game against Los Angeles since joining the Bulls in the summer.
Butler added six rebounds, and Nikola Mirotic and Aaron Brooks each scored 13 points.
It didn’t hurt that Bryant was watching from the sideline in a dark red jacket even if the Lakers were coming off a big victory without him.
Carlos Boozer scored 14 points and got booed in his return to Chicago, as he often did during his four seasons with the Bulls. The Bulls used the amnesty clause to cut him last summer and create the salary-cap space to bring in Gasol and add depth to the roster.
Wesley Johnson led Los Angeles with 19 points. Ed Davis added 13 points and 14 rebounds. Jordan Hill finished with 16 points, but the Lakers shot about 39 percent overall and went 5 of 16 from threepoint range.
Bryant, 36, said his knees, Achilles tendons, feet and back were all bothering him.
WIZARDS 102, KNICKS 91
NEW YORK -- John Wall had 24 points and 11 assists, eluding the Knicks all day until getting knocked to the floor by a flagrant foul that sparked an altercation, and the Washington Wizards beat New York.
Wall toyed with the Knicks for 3 1/2 quarters, highlighted by a spinning, 360-degree layup, before Quincy Acy knocked him down with a forearm shove with 5:31 to play. Wall got up and pushed Acy, who responded with a punch that appeared to hit Wall behind the neck. Acy was ejected in the Christmas Day dust-up, and Wall received a technical foul.
Bradley Beal added 17 points for the Wizards, who had their top five of Wall, Beal, Paul Pierce, Nene and Marcin Gortat in the starting lineup for the first time this season.
Carmelo Anthony scored 34 points for the Knicks, who fell to 5-26 and have the most losses in the NBA. They have dropped six consecutive and 16 of 17.
Sports on 12/26/2014