Chicago Bulls vs Los Angeles Lakers Prediction, 3/12/2026 Preview and Pick

Game: Chicago Bulls vs Los Angeles Lakers

Date: Thursday, March 12, 2026

Location: crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, CA

TV: Spectrum Sportsnet

The Chicago Bulls (27-38) are headed to crypto.com Arena on Thursday where they will attempt to defeat the Los Angeles Lakers (40-25).

The Bulls took the court against the Warriors and notched a win by a score of 130-124 in their last contest. Chicago walked away from the game having earned a 44.6% field goal percentage (50 out of 112) and made 15 of their 47 shots from beyond the arc. From the free throw line, the Bulls converted 15 of 18 attempts for a rate of 83.3%. In the matter of hauling in rebounds, they earned a total of 64 with 20 of them being of the offensive sort. They also recorded 34 assists for the contest in addition to forcing the opposition into 12 turnovers and having 6 steals. When talking about defending, Chicago let their opponent shoot 41.9% from the floor on 44 out of 105 shooting. Golden State doled out 30 dimes and had 9 steals for this game. In addition, Golden State snagged 49 rebounds (12 offensive, 37 defensive) and added 6 blocks. Golden State walked away from this one shooting 88.9% when shooting free throws by converting 16 of their 18 tries. They knocked down 20 of 54 attempts from downtown. When talking about fouls, the Bulls finished with 18 while the Warriors accumulated 18 fouls.

Matas Buzelis is one guy who was a major contributor in this game. He scored 41 points on 16 out of 28 shooting. He played for 45 mins and also pulled down 6 rebounds. Buzelis finished 57.1% from the floor and also distributed 2 dimes.

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Chicago heads into this matchup with a mark of 27-38 for the season. They have an average of 115.6 pts per game (15th in the league) while shooting 46.8% from the field. The Bulls are connecting on 36.4% on three-point shots (950 of 2,613) and 77.9% from the free throw line. As a team, Chicago is collecting 45.1 rebounds per game and is sitting with 1,872 assists on the season, which is 5th in the league in terms of passing the ball. They are losing possession via turnover 15.1 times per game and as a basketball team they commit 18.7 fouls on a nightly basis.

Defensively, the Bulls are forcing 12.6 turnovers per game while drawing 18.5 personal fouls. They currently rank 28th in the NBA in giving up assists to their opponents with 1,843 surrendered this season. The Bulls defensively are giving up and opponent field goal percentage of 47.2% (2,869 of 6,074) and they relinquish 45.4 rebounds per contest as a basketball team. They concede 36.8% from beyond the arc and they are ranked 25th in the league in opponents PPG (119.9).

The last time they took the court, the Lakers got the victory with a final of 120-106 against the Timberwolves. The Lakers collected 33 defensive boards and 14 offensive rebounds totaling 47 for the matchup. They also gave up possession of the ball 7 times, while recording 7 steals for this game. The Timberwolves were called for 24 fouls in this contest which got the Lakers to the free throw line for 26 tries. They were able to knock down 19 of them for a rate of 73.1%. Concerning shots from downtown, Los Angeles knocked down 11 of 38 tries (28.9%). When the game finished, the Lakers shot 45 for 93 from the floor which gave them a rate of 48.4%. The Lakers permitted the Timberwolves to convert 37 of their 80 tries from the floor which gave them a rate of 46.3% for this contest. They went 25.0% from beyond the arc by going 10 out of 40 and finished the contest at 22 out of 28 from the free throw line (78.6%). In regard to attacking the glass, Los Angeles permitted Minnesota to collect 43 in all (8 on the offensive glass).

Luka Doncic was important for the Lakers for this contest. Doncic racked up 31 points in his 35 mins of playing time and accumulated 11 dimes in the game. He made 11 of 24 in the matchup giving him a rate of 45.8%, and tallied 11 rebounds.

Los Angeles has a record of 40-25 so far this year. On the offensive side of the court, the Lakers are shooting 49.8% from the floor, which has them ranked 1st in the league. Los Angeles has totaled 7,536 points for the year (115.9 per contest) and they snag 41.0 boards per game. They are earning an assist 25.5 times per game (19th in the league) and they turn the ball over 14.6 times per game. The Lakers are committing 18.7 personal fouls every game and they hit 77.0% from the charity stripe.

The Lakers on defense are ranked 15th in the NBA in points given up per game with 114.9. They are forcing 14.6 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 48.3% from the field (26th in the NBA). The Los Angeles defense surrenders 35.6% on three-point shots (843 of 2,367) and their opponents are making 79.2% of their shots from the charity stripe. They have relinquished 27.4 assists and 41.1 boards on a nightly basis, which is 21st and 3rd in basketball.

Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Los Angeles

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