The Los Angeles Lakers suffered a heartbreaking 119-117 loss to the Chicago Bulls on Thursday night, and head coach JJ Redick did not hold back his emotions.
Los Angeles (44-29) led by five with just over 12 seconds remaining, but Patrick Williams and Coby White hit back-to-back three-pointers to erase the deficit. Austin Reaves briefly put the Lakers back in front with a layup, but Giddey’s last-second shot stunned the team and the crowd.
Redick was asked about his decision not to call a timeout after the Bulls quickly cut the lead to two. “No, not necessarily. I don’t want to put yourself in that [position],” he explained. “If I had two [timeouts], I would have taken it automatically. Felt, you know, super comfortable with the lineup we had out there to get the ball in.”
Giddey finished with 25 points, 14 rebounds, and 11 assists in a triple-double effort. White led Chicago with 26 points, while Kevin Huerter added 21.
Reaves paced the Lakers with 30 points, Luka Doncic tallied 25 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists, while Jaxson Hayes contributed 19 points. LeBron James finished with 17 points and 12 assists but committed a costly late turnover.
The Bulls’ shooting in the final minutes proved too much for Los Angeles to overcome. “I mean, they shot 11-of-14 from three,” Redick said. “I mean, that’s—11-of-14 in an empty gym is really good. That’s unreal shooting.”
Despite Chicago’s hot streak, Redick believed his team defended well overall. “You got to figure, too, a three-on-one Coby White transition three, a three-on-two Coby White transition three,” he said. “I mean, in the half court, we were great.”
The Lakers had control for most of the game, leading by as many as 14 points, but a 44-point fourth quarter by the Bulls turned the tide. The loss marked the third time this season Los Angeles has let a late lead slip away.
“I mean, it’s the third one. You know, it’s the third one because the Atlanta game, too, we had that game won,” Redick said. “So it’s—you know, there’s games throughout the year that happen like that, I think, to every team, and you can look back, ‘Oh, we should have done this, shouldn’t have done that.’”
He pointed to their recent last-second win in Indiana as proof that games can go either way. “We got one last night in Indy. We lost on a half-court shot,” he said. “I thought, you know, overall, outside of a couple plays, the execution, the shots we were getting—it was good.”
With another tough loss in the books, Redick emphasized the importance of moving forward. “We’re not in a position to feel sorry for ourselves,” he said when asked about bouncing back before facing Memphis on Saturday.
The Lakers remain in fourth place in the Western Conference but have dropped eight of their last 12 games. Meanwhile, the Bulls strengthened their grip on a play-in spot with another crucial victory.
