Lakers crumble in stunner, losing to Bulls on Josh Giddey's half-court shot at buzzer

Dan Woike, Los Angeles Times on Mar 27, 2025

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CHICAGO — The end can come from anywhere, the Lakers showing the Pacers on Wednesday that until the final tick of the clock, the game can change.

It was a sweet feeling, LeBron James slipping in to tip in the game-winner with 0.1 on the clock. The hope was that the moment would give the Lakers a push, the kind of victory that could erase a four-game losing streak.

But the end can come from anywhere, and Thursday, it came from half court.

After Austin Reaves scored a go-ahead basket with 3.3 seconds left, Chicago’s Josh Giddey made a 47-foot shot at the buzzer to stun the Lakers, 119-117.

The shot capped an epic fourth-quarter collapse in which the Lakers allowed the Bulls to make 11 3-pointers on 14 attempts, including two in a 4.2-second span following a defensive mistake by James and a James turnover on the subsequent inbound pass.

The Lakers led by as many as 18 in the fourth quarter, the team weathering a slow start to put together two quarters of excellent basketball before letting up in the fourth.

They tried to kill clock with nearly 10 minutes left, refusing to touch the ball to try and run a few seconds off the clock. The Bulls pounced, the ball suddenly only going in, Coby White leading Chicago in transition just like he did last week against the Lakers.

White led the Bulls (33-40) with 26 points. Giddey added 25 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists.

Reaves scored a game-high 30 points for the Lakers (44-29), who received 25 points from Luka Doncic and 17 from James.