LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles Lakers guard Wesley Matthews reached back into an imaginary quiver, grabbed an arrow, loaded it, pulled back and fired, the owner of one of the NBA’s most elaborate three-point rituals celebrating his latest bull’s-eye Friday night.
Then he did it again. And again. And again. And again.
Matthews, a starter for the first time this season, drained all four triples that came his way in the third quarter, a perfect example of what the Lakers needed on a night like this.
Find your moment, fill in around the things LeBron James is going to do and hope for the best.
With Anthony Davis out of the lineup because of a strained adductor muscle, starter Kentavious Caldwell-Pope still sidelined because of an ankle injury and the wear and tear from games on back-to-back nights, the Lakers needed their supporting players to step into the spotlight.
Because of Matthews’ archery, Montrezl Harrell’s relentless force and usual excellence from James, the Lakers hung on for a 117-115 win.
They got a little lucky. Zach LaVine, who scored 38 points after an eight-for-eight start, wiggled loose for a clean look with less than 10 seconds left, but the potential go-ahead jumper didn’t drop and the Bulls couldn’t grab the rebound.
With the Bulls needing to foul, they couldn’t track down Dennis Schroder fast enough, with the Lakers’ point guard was able to dribble most of the clock away, making one of two free throws with 0.5 seconds left to seal it.
It was a win all 10 players in Frank Vogel’s rotation had a hand in. Every Laker who played at least eight minutes scored at least six points.
