Bulls Trounce Lakers, NBA Scores

During seven seasons together with the Lakers, Pau Gasol and Kobe Bryant formed a bond that won't be broken by separation or retirement.

When they played on the same court in Los Angeles for the final time, the Chicago Bulls won in a blowout that didn't mean a whole lot to two friends with memories of better days.

Jimmy Butler had 26 points and 10 assists, and the Bulls opened their longest road trip of the season with a 114-91 victory over the spiraling Lakers on Thursday night.

Gasol had 21 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists while facing Bryant for the last time at Staples Center. They hadn't played in the same game since the 7-foot Spaniard left the Lakers as a free agent in 2014, leaving behind a legacy of two NBA titles, three trips to the finals and countless incredible moments in LA.

"I just think of all the moments that we went through, and they kind of mix together," Gasol said. "This building is extremely special. It's been my home for so long. I went through so much. Everything is just more intense in this city and with this team. I lived it very intensively."

Bryant scored 10 points on 4-for-13 shooting after sitting out the previous game for the Lakers, who lost their season-worst eighth straight game to drop to 9-39. Kobe hadn't been healthy enough to suit up against the Bulls since the 2012-13 season.

Bryant knows he had a special partnership with Gasol.

"It was his intelligence and his ability to communicate clearly," Bryant said. "His ability to have extreme poise, his ability to put his arm around the guys, laugh at them, beat them up verbally, encourage them and bring them along. It's all those attributes. On top of that, he's just a great player."

Pacers 111, Hawks 92

Monta Ellis finally found his shooting touch, rookie Myles Turner finally got a chance to start and the Indiana Pacers finally figured out how to deliver a knockout punch. It was the perfect combination Thursday night.

Ellis scored 25 points, Turner added 20 points and six rebounds and the struggling Pacers finished the game on a 23-2 stretch to run away from the Atlanta Hawks 111-92.

"We just imposed our will. We got tired of losing," coach Frank Vogel said. "We got stops. Guys just made the necessary plays."

The Pacers had lost three straight, six of their previous seven and back-to-back games on their home court.

So Vogel made a change. Just 24 hours after sounding lukewarm about plugging Turner into the lineup, he reversed course. The move paid immediate dividends as Turner finished 9 of 17 from the field and broke a third-quarter tie with seven straight points.

When he returned to the game with 6:32 left, Indiana limited the Hawks to just two more baskets.

Thursday, January 28 Scoreboard
     
Indiana 111, Atlanta 92

Denver 117, Washington 113
    
Toronto 103, New York 93
    
Memphis 103, Milwaukee 83
    
New Orleans 114, Sacramento 105

Chicago 114, Los Angeles 91

Friday, January 29 Schedule (All Times Central)

Orlando at Boston, 6:30 p.m.

Cleveland at Detroit, 6:30 p.m.

Phoenix at New York, 6:30 p.m.

Houston at Oklahoma City, 7 p.m.

Miami at Milwaukee, 7 p.m.

Brooklyn at Dallas, 7:30 p.m.

Minnesota at Utah, 8 p.m.

Charlotte at Portland, 9 p.m.

Los Angeles at Los Angeles, 9:30 p.m.

Saturday, January 30 Schedule (All Times Central)

Golden State at Philadelphia, 4 p.m.

Detroit at Toronto, 5:30 p.m.

Denver at Indiana, 6 p.m.

Brooklyn at New Orleans, 6 p.m.

Washington at Houston, 7 p.m.

Sacramento at Memphis, 7 p.m.

San Antonio at Cleveland, 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, January 31 Schedule (All Times Central)

Chicago at Los Angeles, 2:30 p.m.

Atlanta at Miami, 5 p.m.

Boston at Orlando, 5 p.m.

Phoenix at Dallas, 6 p.m.

Golden State at New York, 6:30 p.m.

Minnesota at Portland, 8 p.m.

Charlotte at Los Angeles, 8:30 p.m.