Even though their opponents were without LeBron James, the Milwaukee Bucks fell to the Los Angeles Lakers 116-93. Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 32 points, grabbed 1o rebounds and had five assists—the only
Buck to score over 15 points. Doncic and Reaves combined for 66 points and 10 made threes.
Game Recap
With both teams in the second game of a back-to-back, it was a bit of a slow start. The sides combined to shoot under .500 almost halfway through the quarter, but after two Luka Doncic threes, it was the Lakers who had a five-point lead. While Doncic and the Lakers got going, the Bucks were stuck in neutral, not scoring any points for 3:27 of game time until Ryan Rollins hit a 13-foot floater. Doncic continued to make plays for the Lakers, including a high-arching lob to Jaxson Hayes for a dunk. They built up a 12-point lead heading into the second, 30-18. Milwaukee shot 7/21 from the floor and 3/12 from the three point line.
LA went up by as many as 14 points in the first few minutes of the second, with DeAndre Ayton scoring three straight buckets. The Bucks did get it back within single digits, with Giannis finally getting some calls and heading to the free throw line. The Greek Freak even gave the Bucks fans at Fiserv a throwback moment, where he blocked Ayton on a layup attempt. Yet, when Doncic came back in for the Lakers, they re-ballooned their lead, reaching as high as 21 points, 52-31. Things didn’t get better for the team in hunter green, as they continued to miss wide open looks and the Lakers took advantage. Over the final 3:19 of the half, Los Angeles outscored Milwaukee 13-3, taking a 65-34 lead heading into the locker room. It was the 4th fewest first half points for the Bucks since the 2014-15 season, per StatMuse.
Despite the wide margin on the scoreboard, the Bucks tried to make it a game again. In the first three minute of the third quarter, they went on a 15-5 run to get the deficit under 30 points. AJ Green and Myles Turner started to hit their shots, with Green hitting a pair of threes and Turner hitting one during the run. The two sides would trade baskets back and forth throughout the rest of the third quarter, though, with the Lakers keeping the Bucks anywhere from 18-21 points away from their lead. The Bucks did get it down to 14 in the waning seconds of the quarter, but two annoying step-back threes from Doncic made it a 20-point game heading into the fourth, 92-72. Giannis played the entire frame, scored 15 points, and dished out four assists, but Doncic scored 16 for the Lakers.
The Bucks got off to a fast start to begin the fourth, going on a 9-3 run to get the game within 13 points. After a timeout from J.J. Redick, Austin Reaves took control of the offense with Doncic on the bench. He nailed two threes to push their lead back to 16 points, earning a timeout from Doc Rivers with 6:53 to go. The Bucks were able to get it back within 13 again, but that’s as close as they got. The duo of Reaves and Doncic kept pouring it on so Rivers waved the white flag, subbing Giannis out for Andre Jackson Jr with 3:35 left in the game.
Stat That Stood Out
10/41. That’s what the Bucks shot in the first half against the Lakers. The fatigue really seemed to set in for Milwaukee, and Los Angeles took full advantage to build a 31-point halftime lead that they never relinquished.
