Lakers seven games under .500 after loss in Chicago

Posted: Jan 21, 2013 9:45 PM by Bill Halter, AP
Updated: Jan 22, 2013 12:02 AM

CHICAGO (AP) - Kirk Hinrich scored 22 points, Marco Belinelli added 15 points, and the Chicago Bulls pulled away down the stretch to beat the struggling Los Angeles Lakers 95-83 on Monday night. Los Angeles is now 17-24, four games back of eighth seeded Houston in the Western Conference.

Belinelli came up big in the closing minutes, scoring eight points during an 18-4 run that broke a 75-75 tie and sent the Lakers to their ninth loss in 11 games.

He started it by hitting two free throws after getting fouled by Dwight Howard with 6:54 left in the game and wrapped two 3-pointers around a layup by Los Angeles' Earl Clark, making it 89-79 with 2:27 remaining.

The Lakers have now dropped six straight on the road, and this one came after coach Mike D'Antoni shook up the lineup. He moved forward Pau Gasol to a reserve role and replaced him with Clark, but the slide continued on a night when Kobe Bryant and Howard were mostly nonfactors.

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