Sophomore forward Matas Buzelis learned a very valuable lesson in the Chicago Bulls‘ 142-130 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto.com Arena on Thursday. Buzelis made the mistake of engaging in trash talk with Luka Doncic, and the Lakers superstar responded by dropping 51 points on the Bulls.
Chirping with Doncic almost never ends well for the opposition, and Buzelis was asked for his take on what had happened between them in his postgame media session.
“I don’t even know what to say, honestly,” Buzelis said, via The Athletic’s Law Murray. “He started killing, obviously, when I started talking to him… As you said, I don’t back down from anybody, no matter who you are. And I took on the challenge and didn’t execute.”
It was in the second quarter that the trash talk began, and Doncic revealed after the game that it did indeed motivate him to go off. The Slovenian scored 12 points in a row for the Lakers at one point in the period and went on to put up his first 50-point game as a Laker. Buzelis was tasked with guarding Doncic a fair bit and admitted he regrets talking trash when asked what he took away from the experience.
“Probably not to talk to him,” Buzelis stated.
That is a wise decision. You do not want to poke this bear, as he will make you pay.
To go with those 51 points (17-31 FG), Doncic had 10 rebounds, nine assists, three steals, and one block. The 28-year-old also added postgame that he was surprised by Buzelis talking trash, as he hadn’t said a word. Interestingly enough, though, the 21-year-old claimed it was Doncic who started it.
“I’d rather not say what I said,” Buzelis said. “But he said something to me first. So that’s why I had to respond. And I mean, I’m not gonna say what he said either. But I just felt like I responded to what he said.”
Regardless of who started it, Doncic was the one who got the last laugh. It will be interesting to see what happens the next time they play each other, but we’ll only get to witness it next season, unless they both somehow reach the NBA Finals.
The Lakers swept the season series with this victory, having already beaten the Bulls 129-118 on Jan. 26. Doncic racked up 46 points back then, and the Bulls would be glad they don’t have to face him again this season.
As for Buzelis, he only had 11 points that night, but managed to double his output here. He finished with 22 points (7-19 FG), six rebounds, one assist, two steals, and two blocks. It wasn’t enough to get the Bulls a second-straight win, though, and they have now dropped to 27-39 on the season. They’ll take on the Los Angeles Clippers next at the Intuit Dome on Friday at 10:30 p.m. ET.
As for the Lakers, they have now won seven of their last eight games to improve to 41-25. They are in action next against the Denver Nuggets at Crypto.com Arena on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. ET.
