Tonight at 8:00 p.m. ET the Los Angeles Lakers (9-19) will look to find some Christmas magic and muster enough points to take down the Chicago Bulls (19-9) and their tough defense on Christmas Day. Watch the game on TNT and live stream it free by clicking this link. Lakers fans can hear the action on 710 ESPN, while Bulls fans may do likewise on ESPN 1000.
LeBron James' return to Miami is grabbing headlines, but Pau Gasol is facing his old team as well today. The Lakers are coming to Chicago sure, but the greatest years of Gasol's career were spent in purple and gold.
"Emotional, weird, hard to focus, but at the same time I kind of look forward to it in a way," Gasol said of facing the Lakers. "To see some of the people that I've been through a lot with. ... Just makes Christmas a little more special."
Gasol was expected to take on a smaller role in Chicago but injuries to Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson at points in the year have contributed to Gasol playing 35 minutes a game. He's been productive, averaging 18 points and 11.4 rebounds for a Chicago team on a four-game winning streak.
Meanwhile, Derrick Rose is resembling his MVP form lately, averaging just fewer than 23 points a game in his last six contests.
"It's real, Chicago Bulls are getting healthy again. It's very real. ... We know the sky's the limit for our team. Our confidence is getting better, and we're just going to keep working. It's all coming and it's going to be a special year," Noah said.
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