Chicago, IL (SportsNetwork.com) - Pau Gasol faced his former team for the first time, but a showdown with Kobe Bryant will have to wait. Gasol had 23 points and 13 rebounds as the Chicago Bulls routed the Los Angeles Lakers 113-93 on Christmas Day. Gasol signed with the Bulls during the offseason after spending his previous six-plus seasons with the Lakers, winning a pair of NBA titles. It was weird, difficult at first to get going, Gasol admitted. Once you start playing, youre just playing the best game you can. The 36-year-old Bryant cited old age and sore knees as his reasons for sitting out Thursday nights game against Chicago during a pregame session with reporters. The team is struggling right now and its difficult to see him struggle, Gasol said of Bryant and the Lakers. The game in LA will probably be a little more emotional than this one. Gasol will return to Staples Center to play the Lakers on Jan. 29. Jimmy Butler posted 21 points, six rebounds and five assists, while Derrick Rose added 20 points and six assists for Chicago, which has won five straight and eight of its last nine games. Wesley Johnson supplied 19 points and nine boards and Ed Davis provided 13 points and 14 rebounds for the Lakers, who have dropped four of their last five contests. Butlers turnaround fadeaway in the waning seconds of the first half staked Chicago to a 58-47 halftime advantage, but an 11-2 Lakers run to start the second half got them within a basket. Jordan Hill had six points during the surge, which was capped on a Johnson layup to trim the margin to 60-58. The Bulls pulled away during the latter stages of the third and early portion of the fourth with an 11-3 burst. Taj Gibson split a pair of foul shots to finish off the swing and give the Bulls a 92-80 spread. Chicago cruised to the easy win from there. Earlier, the Bulls led 27-24 following a quarter of play and outscored LA 31-23 in the second. It was also the first game for Carlos Boozer in a Lakers uniform playing against his former team. Boozer, who was claimed off waivers by the Lakers in July, had played the previous four seasons for Chicago. He had 14 points off the bench. At some point you have to put the emotions and feelings aside, go out there and win a basketball game, Boozer said. They came in waves. Game Notes Gasol signed a three-year, $22 million contract with Chicago during the offseason ... It wouldve been Bryants NBA-record 16th Christmas Day game had he suited up. He came in averaging 30.4 points over his last nine Christmas games ... LA turned the ball over just four times, but was outrebounded 57-39. Basketball Shoes Online Store . Ryu (8-3) allowed a run and three hits in six innings and struck out six in his 13th start. In his first 13 starts last season -- his first in the major leagues -- the left-hander was 8-5 with a 2.85 ERA. This was the ninth time this year that Ryu has allowed fewer than three earned runs, and he is 7-0 in those games. Fake Basketball Shoes .C. -- Panthers wide receiver Steve Smith has been ruled out for Sundays game against the Atlanta Falcons. https://www.cheapbasketballshoesstore.com/.com) - The Vancouver Canucks recovered from a fluke goal early last time out to knock off one of the top teams in the league. Basketball Shoes 2020 . The (11-11-4) Jets are seventh in the Central Division with 26 points. Fifth place Dallas and sixth-seeded Nashville also have 26 points, but the Stars have three games in hand on Winnipeg while Nashville has two. Discount Basketball Shoes . MacLean clocked 8:24.91 seconds, eclipsing the previous mark of 8:27.59 set by Brittany Reimer of Victoria at the 2005 FINA World Championships in Montreal. MacLean and Tabitha Baumann of Ottawa -- second in 8:32.37 -- both went under the qualifying standard to be nominated to the Commonwealth Games and Pan Pacific teams.DALLAS -- Alex Chiasson scored two goals and the Dallas Stars earned a 5-1 preseason victory over the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday. Kari Lehtonen made 25 for the Stars. Chiasson opened the scoring 55 seconds into the game. He picked up his third goal of the preseason att 6:30 of the third period on a power play.dddddddddddd Erik Cole and Valeri Nichushkin also scored for the Stars. Alex Goligoski added a goal and two assists. Tyler Seguin and Ray Whitney both had two assists for Dallas. Jamie McGinn scored for Colorado. ' ' '