Lakers Are 4-0 as Bulls Fall, 123-101 : Jordan Scores 36 Points and Worthy Gets 18 in Return to Chapel Hill

A.C. Green scored 19 points, and James Worthy and Magic Johnson added 18 each to lead the Lakers past Chicago, 123-101, in a National Basketball Assn. exhibition game Saturday night.

The game marked the return of Worthy and former University of North Carolina teammate Michael Jordan to Chapel Hill. Before a sellout crowd of 21,444 at the Dean E. Smith Student Activities Center, Jordan scored a game-high 36 points for the Bulls.

The Lakers, 4-0 in the exhibition season, jumped out to a 61-47 halftime lead before the Bulls closed within three points at 71-68 with 8:10 left in the third quarter.

However, the Lakers scored seven straight points in a 3 1/2-minute span to increase their lead to 78-68, and the Bulls couldn’t come any closer.

The Lakers boosted their margin to 90-77 at the end of three quarters.

Former Maryland star Adrian Branch added 14 points for the Lakers, while Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Michael Cooper scored 12 each, and Wes Matthews 10.

Guard John Paxson and forward Charles Oakley each scored 11 points for the Bulls, now 1-4 in exhibition play.