Morning Box Score: Bulls Barely Beat Lakers

By Lisa White in News on Jan 21, 2014 3:20PM

Bulls 102, Lakers 100
The Bulls slid in right under the wire Monday night to squeak out a win over the Los Angeles Lakers. With an assist from Mike Dunleavy, Taj Gibson went in for a left handed layup that saw him dropping the ball in right as the buzzer hit (less than one second) in overtime, giving the Bulls a 102-100 victory. Dunleavy had to inbound from underneath the basket, found Gibson cutting down the middle who then headed toward the hoop for the winning basket. Officials confirmed the close call by video review. Gibson said it was his first winning buzzer-beater ever. “They always crack jokes on me in practice about trying to use my left and today I proved them wrong,” Gibson told press after Monday night's game.

Rounding out the night for Chicago, Joakim Noah had 17 points, 21 rebound and six assists, D.J. Augustin had a season-high 27 points and Jimmy Butler ended the night with 13 points and 11 rebounds.

Despite both teams having some of their best players on the bench sidelined with serious injuries and any title wins looking grim, the two teams offered up a well executed game. Next up, the Bulls head to Cleveland Wednesday to take on the Cavaliers.