Doncic dominates in Lakers Windy City victory

CHICAGO — A winter storm may have covered Chicago with single-digit temperatures on Monday night, but the Lakers entered the United Center scorching hot. From the moment LeBron James made the first shot of the game, a heavily contested fadeaway jumper over Bulls big man Jalen Smith, it was clear it would be one of those offensive nights for Los Angeles, who rode a hot shooting night to a 129-118 win over the Bulls.James packed in his points early, scoring 20 points in the opening 16 ½ minutes to give the Lakers a 14-point midway through the second quarter and 69-56 lead going into halftime. After finding balance as a scorer and distributor in the first half, in which he had 17 points and eight assists in the opening two quarters, Luka Doncic picked up where James left off. Doncic scored 20 points in the third, helping the Lakers keep pace with a Bulls team that was having a shooting night of their own.And when the Lakers needed a release valve to ease the offensive burden that Doncic (46 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds) and James (24 points) carried, Rui Hachimura was once again there to provide support. Hachimura finished with 23 points on 9-of-11 shooting (4-of-5 from three), carrying his hot shooting from Saturday’s win in Dallas, in which he shot 4-of-7 from deep, into the Windy City. As a team, the Lakers shot 56.1 percent from the field and 48.5 percent from deep (16-of-33) and scored at least 34 points in the opening three quarters before cruising to their fourth win in the last five games. The Bulls, led by Coby White’s 23 points, six assists and five rebounds, shot 18-of-49 from three but were undone by their giveaways. Chicago’s 15 turnovers directly led to 23 Lakers’ points. The Lakers, who improved to 28-17 with the victory, will have the opportunity to go on just their second three-game winning streak since December started. There were multiple points where it felt like the game’s momentum swung.And if the Lakers lost, the 8-...