Los Angeles, CA (My Sportsbook) - The Los Angeles Lakers tray to snap a three-game slide when they welcome the Chicago Bulls to Staples Center on Friday evening.

This was supposed to be the game that Shaquille O'Neal returned for the Lakers. That looks unlikely at the moment. Coach Phil Jackson said he doesn't feel O'Neal will play, and added if he does it will be off the bench for limited minutes.

Chicago has lost two straight and four of its last five games entering tonight's game. The Bulls are coming off a 100-94 setback at the hands of the Golden State Warriors. Chicago pulled to within 96-94 with 2:56 remaining after a 19-9 run, but it wilted down the stretch, twice blowing chances to tie the game.

"There are a ton of things you could point to," Jalen Rose said, "but the bottom line is to come out and set the tone. We were playing from behind all night, so it didn't matter how well we played in the second half. It wasn't going to be enough."

The Bulls are just 1-6 on the road and have dropped their last six games away from United Center. Chicago is 1-3 against the Western Conference.

Los Angeles is coming off a 95-88 loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday. Kobe Bryant led the way with 24 points in the losing effort, but Tim Duncan was too much for the shorthanded Lakers. Duncan scored nine of his 16 points in the fourth quarter and grabbed 18 rebounds.

"We had bench players [on the floor] and we were undermanned against Tim," Jackson said. "That's when they got the game back in order."

The Lakers are just 2-3 at home this season and have an 0-4 mark against teams from the Eastern Conference.

The Bulls won both meetings last season after dropping the previous five clashes between the teams. Chicago has lost four of its last five at Los Angeles and trails the all-time, overall series 71-50.