Halftime: Lakers 53, Bulls 42

Pau Gasol scored 14 points on 6-for-11 shooting and also grabbed five rebounds in his first 17 minutes of the season tonight against Chicago. He hardly looked as if he had been sidelined for five-plus weeks because of a strained right hamstring. Kobe Bryant scored 13 points on 4-for-14 shooting. John Salmons led Chicago with 18 points on 7-for-11 shooting.