Chicago faces Los Angeles, aims for 5th straight win

Audio By Carbonatix

Los Angeles Lakers (27-17, fifth in the Western Conference) vs. Chicago Bulls (23-22, ninth in the Eastern Conference)

Chicago; Monday, 8 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Chicago heads into a matchup with Los Angeles as winners of four consecutive games.

The Bulls are 15-9 in home games. Chicago ranks fifth in the NBA with 18.0 fast break points per game led by Coby White averaging 3.8.

The Lakers are 15-9 on the road. Los Angeles is 5-0 in games decided by 3 points or fewer.

The Bulls are shooting 47.6% from the field this season, 0.9 percentage points lower than the 48.5% the Lakers allow to opponents. The Lakers average 116.0 points per game, 3.7 fewer than the 119.7 the Bulls give up to opponents.

TOP PERFORMERS: Nikola Vucevic is scoring 16.8 points per game with 9.1 rebounds and 3.8 assists for the Bulls. Matas Buzelis is averaging 16.6 points and 4.7 rebounds while shooting 46.5% over the past 10 games.

Luka Doncic is averaging 33.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, 8.7 assists and 1.6 steals for the Lakers. LeBron James is averaging 21.1 points, 6.6 rebounds and 6.3 assists over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Bulls: 6-4, averaging 116.5 points, 43.9 rebounds, 31.2 assists, 6.9 steals and 6.0 blocks per game while shooting 48.5% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 112.5 points per game.

Lakers: 4-6, averaging 112.3 points, 42.8 rebounds, 24.3 assists, 7.5 steals and 4.1 blocks per game while shooting 47.2% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 114.1 points.

INJURIES: Bulls: Noa Essengue: out for season (shoulder), Zach Collins: out (toe), Tre Jones: out (hamstring).

Lakers: Austin Reaves: out (calf), Adou Thiero: out (knee).

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.