Giddey drills halfcourt heave as Bulls escape Lakers


At a glance

  • Josh Giddey made a halfcourt heave at the buzzer to cap perhaps the wildest finish in the NBA this season, giving the Chicago Bulls a 119-117 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night, March 27.


CHICAGO (AP) — Josh Giddey made a halfcourt heave at the buzzer to cap perhaps the wildest finish in the NBA this season, giving the Chicago Bulls a 119-117 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night, March 27.

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Chicago Bulls' Josh Giddy (3) celebrates with teammates after making the winning basket in an NBA basketball game against the Los Angeles Lakers Thursday, March 27, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)

Patrick Williams and Coby White hit back-to-back 3-pointers in the closing seconds for the Bulls, who trailed by five points with 12.6 seconds remaining.

Giddey finished with 25 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists. White scored 26 points and Kevin Huerter added 21 as the Bulls won for the ninth time in 11 games. And this one was easily their wildest in recent memory.

The Lakers looked like they had the game at hand leading 115-100 after Austin Reaves made two free throws with 13 seconds remaining. The Bulls weren’t finished, though.

Williams nailed a 3 for Chicago with 10 seconds remaining. Giddey stole a pass from James and White hit a 3 with 6 seconds to go, putting the Bulls on top 116-115.

Reaves then drove for a layup to give Los Angeles a 117-116 lead with 3 seconds to go. But the Bulls still found a way to pull this one out, mobbing Giddey after he buried the winner.

Reaves led Los Angeles with 30 points. Luka Doncic had 25 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists. Jaxson Hayes scored 19, and James finished with 17 points and 12 assists.

Meanwhile, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 37 points and Oklahoma City defeated the Memphis Grizzlies, 125-104, as the Thunder won their eighth straight and team-record 61st game of the season.

All-Star guard Jalen Williams scored 20 points in his return for the Thunder after missing seven games with a hip injury. Isaiah Hartenstein added 18 points and 11 rebounds for Oklahoma City (61-12), which remained two games ahead of Cleveland for the league’s best record with nine games to play. The Thunder have clinched the best record in the Western Conference.

Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 27 points and Scotty Pippen Jr. added 17 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and five steals for the Grizzlies. Memphis guard Ja Morant sat out for the sixth straight game with a strained hamstring.

Oklahoma City led 63-59 at halftime, then opened the second half on an 8-0 run that forced a Memphis timeout. The Thunder scored one more bucket before the Grizzlies finally got on the board in the third quarter.

The Grizzlies clawed back late in the period, and the Thunder lead was 91-89 heading into the fourth.

Oklahoma City dominated the fourth. A 3-pointer by Cason Wallace put the Thunder up 112-99, then Hartenstein made a pair of free throws to close out a 15-0 run.

In Salt Lake City, Alperen Sengun had 33 points and 10 rebounds, Amen Thompson finished with 16 points, 10 rebounds and five assists, and the Houston Rockets beat the Utah Jazz, 121-110.

The Rockets have a two-game lead over the third-place Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference standings with a little more than two weeks left in the regular season.

Jalen Green added 21 points and Tari Eason scored 15 for Houston.

In Sacramento, Zach LaVine scored 29 points and Domantas Sabonis finished with 22 points, 19 rebounds and six assists to help the Kings beat the Portland Trail Blazers 128-107 and snap a four-game skid.

LaVine made 13 of 18 from the field and Sabonis was 9-of-11 shooting for the Kings. DeMar DeRozan had 21 points and 10 assists, Keegan Murray scored 17 points and Malik Monk 16.

Deni Avdija had 24 points and nine rebounds, Shaedon Sharpe scored 22 points and Anfernee Simons had 20. Duop Reath scored a season-high 17.

In Miami, Tyler Herro scored 36 points, Davion Mitchell and Andrew Wiggins each added 16 and the Heat beat the Atlanta Hawks, 122-112, for their third straight win.

Bam Adebayo had 12 points and 10 rebounds for Miami, which trailed by 14 in the first quarter but controlled the second half.

Trae Young had 29 points and 12 assists for the Hawks, who got 17 points from Caris LeVert and 15 from Oneyka Okongwu.