So much for that!

A hot start fizzled like a warm Coke in the second half as the Bulls' defense completely disappeared in a 117-109 loss to the Lakers at United Center.

John Salmons had 30, Derrick Rose 25, but Kobe had 28 and the fans yelled "MVP! MVP!" despite the Lakers' #24 going only 10-for-25 from the field...A 14-0 Laker run early in the 4th quarter put this one away for the NBA's best team out West, the start of a 9 game road trip. Luckily for the Bulls, the Bucks lost to the Blazers 96-84 in Milwaukee, the Bobcats were 108-83 losers to the Pacers in Charlotte, and the Knicks also lost 110-103 to the Magic in Orlando. The Bulls maintain a 1.5 game lead for the last Eastern Conference playoff spot, and a return visit to the Verizon Center in Washington Monday night on WCIU 26 "The U" and ESPN 1000 at 6p. I think we remember what happened the last time the Bulls were there, and so does President Obama...