LeBron James' return from injury spoiled by Bulls' phenomenal effort in 146-115 win over Lakers

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Coby White scored 36 points, Josh Giddey flirted with a quadruple-double and the Chicago Bulls wrecked LeBron James' return from injury with an impressive 146-115 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday night.

Luka Doncic scored 29 of his 34 points in the first half and hit eight 3-pointers, while James had 17 points after a seven-game absence.

Neither superstar could do a thing to slow the Bulls, who scorched Los Angeles' normally sturdy defense on the way to their seventh win in nine games. Chicago's 146 points were 12 more than the Lakers had allowed in any game this season.

Matas Buzelis scored 31 points for Chicago, and Giddey recorded 15 points, 17 assists, 10 rebounds and eight steals. White was dominant while hitting six 3-pointers, and eight Bulls scored at least nine points on the fifth stop of a six-game road trip.

Austin Reaves scored 25 points for LA.

Rui Hachimura made his own return from a 12-game absence with a knee injury, making the Lakers' roster largely whole — but Los Angeles then played perhaps its worst defensive game.

Bulls: One of their best performances of the season, particularly in their fifth road game in eight nights while playing without injured starter Tre Jones. Chicago is looking more like a postseason threat.

Lakers: An exhausting two weeks ended discouragingly. James missed two weeks with a strained left groin, and Los Angeles clearly needs time to get back to its pre-injury form.

Reaves and Doncic kept it close through halftime, but White scored 12 points while Chicago steadily pulled away with a 39-point third quarter.

Doncic scored at least 29 points for the ninth time in his last 11 games.

On Monday, the Bulls finish their trip in Denver and the Lakers begin a four-game trip in Orlando.

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Chicago Bulls guard Josh Giddey (3) gets a pass off against Los Angeles Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt (2) in the first half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, March 22, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Wally Skalij)

Chicago Bulls center Nikola Vucevic (9) and Los Angeles Lakers forward Dorian Finney-Smith (17) battle for a rebound in the first half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, March 22, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Wally Skalij)

Chicago Bulls guard Coby White (0) drives between Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) and guard Jordan Goodwin (30) for a basket in the first half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, March 22, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Wally Skalij)

Chicago Bulls forward Zach Collins (12) battles for a rebound with Los Angeles Lakers guard Gabe Vincent (7) and center Jaxson Hayes (11) in the first half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, March 22, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Wally Skalij)

Los Angeles Lakers center Jaxson Hayes (11) battles for a rebound with Chicago Bulls forwards Matas Buzelis, left, and Zach Collins, third from left, in the first half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, March 22, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Wally Skalij)

Chicago Bulls guard Josh Giddey (3) passes the ball in front of Los Angeles Lakers center Jaxson Hayes (11) and guard Luka Doncic (77) in the first half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, March 22, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Wally Skalij)

Chicago Bulls forward Matas Buzelis (14) scores a basket in front of Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) in the first half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, March 22, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Wally Skalij)

SRINAGAR, India (AP) — Authorities in Indian-controlled Kashmir have temporarily shut more than half of tourist resorts in the scenic Himalayan region after last week’s deadly attack on tourists raised tensions between India and Pakistan and led to an intensifying security crackdown in Kashmir.

At least two police officers and three administrative officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity in keeping with departmental policy, said Tuesday that the decision to shut 48 of the 87 government authorized resorts was a precautionary safety measure. They did not specify for how long these places would be out of bounds for visitors.

The decision comes a week after gunmen killed 26 people, most of them Indian tourists, near the resort town of Pahalgam.

India has described the massacre as a “terror attack” and accused Pakistan of backing it. Pakistan has denied any connection to the attack, and it was claimed by a previously unknown militant group calling itself the Kashmir Resistance.

Some tourists who survived the massacre have told Indian media that the gunmen singled out Hindu men and shot them from close range. The dead included a Nepalese citizen and a local Muslim pony ride operator.

The massacre set off tit-for-tat diplomatic measures between India and Pakistan that included cancellation of visas and recalling of diplomats. New Delhi also suspended a crucial water sharing treaty with Islamabad and ordered its border shut with Pakistan. In response, Pakistan has closed its airspace to Indian airlines.

The region is split between India and Pakistan and claimed by both in its entirety. New Delhi describes all militancy in Indian-controlled Kashmir as Pakistan-backed terrorism. Pakistan denies this, and many Muslim Kashmiris consider the militants to be part of a home-grown freedom struggle.

Indian tourism has flourished in Kashmir after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government promoted visits to the region with the hope of showing rising tourism numbers as a sign of renewed stability there.

Millions of visitors arrive in Kashmir to see its Himalayan foothills and exquisitely decorated houseboats, despite regular skirmishes between insurgents and government forces. According to official data, close to 3 million tourists visited the region in 2024, a rise from 2.71 million visitors in 2023 and 2.67 million in 2022.

But last week's attack has left many tourists scared and some have left the region. Widespread cancellations are also being reported by tour operators, with some estimates putting the number at more than 1 million.

As tensions escalate, cross-border firing between soldiers of India and Pakistan has also increased along the Line of Control, the de facto frontier that separates Kashmiri territory between the two rivals. On Tuesday, the Indian army in a statement said it had responded to “unprovoked” small arms fire from multiple Pakistan army posts for a fifth consecutive night.

There was no comment from Pakistan, and the incidents could not be independently verified. In the past, each side has accused the other of starting border skirmishes in the Himalayan region.

Meanwhile government forces in the region have detained and questioned nearly 2,000 people, officials and residents said. Many of the detained are former rebels fighting against Indian rule and others who officials describe as “over ground workers” of militants, a term authorities use for the suspected civilian associates of the insurgents.

Soldiers have also detonated explosives in the family homes of at least nine suspected militants across Kashmir.

The region’s top pro-India leaders have supported action against suspected militants but also questioned the demolitions.

Omar Abdullah, the region’s chief minister, said Monday that any heavy-handed tactics against civilians should be avoided. “We should not take any step that will alienate people,” Abdullah told the region's lawmakers during a legislative session.

Ruhullah Mehdi, a lawmaker from the region in India’s national parliament, termed the demolitions of homes as “collective punishment.”

A locked garden gate is seen in Srinagar after it was closed by authorities as a precautionary safety measure following last week's deadly attack on tourists near the resort town of Pahalgam, Indian controlled Kashmir, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)

An Indian paramilitary soldier talks with tourists outside a garden in Srinagar after it was closed by authorities as a precautionary safety measure following last week's deadly attack on tourists near the resort town of Pahalgam, Indian controlled Kashmir, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)

A locked garden gate is seen in Srinagar after it was closed by authorities as a precautionary safety measure following last week's deadly attack on tourists near the resort town of Pahalgam, Indian controlled Kashmir, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)

An Indian paramilitary soldier guards outside a garden in Srinagar after it was closed by authorities as a precautionary safety measure following last week's deadly attack on tourists near the resort town of Pahalgam, Indian controlled Kashmir, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)

A locked garden gate is seen in Srinagar after it was closed by authorities as a precautionary safety measure following last week's deadly attack on tourists near the resort town of Pahalgam, Indian controlled Kashmir, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)

Indian paramilitary soldiers guard inside a Mughal garden on the outskirts of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Sunday, April. 27, 2025.(AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)

An Indian paramilitary soldier stands guard inside a Mughal garden on the outskirts of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Sunday, April. 27, 2025.(AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)