"Pau Gasol made his season debut Thursday night.

An argument could be made that Derrick Rose did too.

Rallying from a brutal first half that mirrored his season-long struggles, Rose rallied with 16 of his team-high 20 points in the second half of the Bulls' 108-93 loss to the Lakers Thursday night at Staples Center.

Rose has flashed glimpses of promise previously this season, most notably the fourth quarters of the Nov. 3 and Nov. 5 victories over the Bucks and Cavaliers, respectively.

But if the Bulls are to take the next step this season -- and rebound from a game in which they clearly were outclassed by the defending NBA champions -- they'll need more performances like Rose's second half Thursday in which he made 7 of 9 shots and drove to the rim consistently.

"I really liked the way he attacked," coach Vinny Del Negro said. "I thought he got his rhythm in the second half and was attacking the rim with his floaters in the lane. He played with a little bit more thrust and pace, and it was nice to see him knock some shots down."

Rose missed his first five shots, went 2-for-11 before halftime before finding the form that led to his Rookie of the Year season last year.

"We lost, so it really doesn't matter," Rose said. "I just wanted to get to the rim. The other games, I was kind of playing relaxed. I was a lot more aggressive this game."

So was Gasol, who scored the Lakers' first basket, 10 of their first 13 points and posted a dominant double-double with 24 points and 13 rebounds in 35 minutes.

"He didn't look very rusty to me," Del Negro said with a weary smile."