The Milwaukee Bucks dropped the second leg of their back-to-back for the second time this season, this time to the Los Angeles Lakers, 119-95. Los Angeles beat Milwaukee for the first time since the 2023-24 season, after getting swept in the two-game series last season. Read our full summary of the game here and catch a six-minute audio recap on the Bucks+ podcast, Bucks In Six Minutes, below.
Player Grades
Giannis Antetokounmpo
32 minutes, 32 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, 5 turnovers, 9/15 FG, 1/1 3PT, 13/18 FT, -12
Giannis did everything
he could in the third quarter to will the Bucks back into the game, scoring 15 points and dishing out five assists. The two-time MVP even hit a three in the fourth quarter, but it wasn’t enough with everyone not named AJ Green and Gary Trent Jr. having a rough night offensively.
Grade: A-
Myles Turner
30 minutes, 3 points, 8 rebounds, 1/4 FG, 1/2 3PT, -12
After having one of his best offensive games as a Buck, this is up there as one of Turner’s worst. He would’ve been 2/3 from three if it didn’t get overturned, but he wasn’t able to get it going against Deandre Ayton. Add in the defensive struggles in the pick-and-roll, and it was a bad night for No. 3.
Grade: D+
Ryan Rollins
27 minutes, 10 points, 3 assists, 2 steals, 3 turnovers, 4/11 FG, 0/3 3PT, 2/4 FT, -22
Fatigue was noticeable from the jump with Rollins, as one of his first three-point attempts missed off the front of the iron. He still put up a solid all-around performance, but having to guard a white-hot Austin Reaves was not ideal, considering the load Ryan carried on Friday.
Grade: C+
Kyle Kuzma
20 minutes, 1 point, 5 fouls, 0/6 FG, 0/5 3PT, -17
The pendulum swung back in the other direction for Kyle Kuzma. He had trouble staying in front of Luka Doncic and couldn’t get anything going offensively. Kuzma sat out the entire third quarter and didn’t re-enter until late in the fourth quarter, when there was little chance for a comeback.
Grade: F
AJ Green
25 minutes, 15 points, 3 rebounds, 5/10 3PT, -5
The arrow keeps pointing back up for AJ Green. He had 12 points on 4/6 from three in the third quarter alone, and was a huge reason the Bucks even had a shot of pulling off the comeback. Doc needs to find more ways to get him three-point looks.
Grade: B+
Gary Trent Jr.
24 minutes, 13 points, 5/12 FG, 3/9 3PT, -27
Trent was one of the few players who kept the Bucks offense afloat during the second half. While Gary’s efficiency wasn’t great, he was one of the better Bucks on the floor last night.
Grade: B-
Cole Anthony
18 minutes, 0 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 turnovers, 0/5 FG, -2
The more time goes on, the more it seems as if that first week of Cole Anthony isn’t really what he is. Anthony had some head-scratching decisions on offense, and he clearly had nothing on D guarding Austin Reaves. Maybe he gets better in a reduced role when Kevin Porter Jr. comes back, but until then, Cole is going to have to figure something out.
Grade: D+
Bobby Portis
18 minutes, 8 points, 6 rebounds, 3/8 FG, 2/2 3PT, -2
It was a quiet Bobby Portis game, which can be both good or bad. BP hit his threes, but he went back to his bull-headed ways of taking contested hook shots and jumpers. There was one sequence where he posted up Reaves and spun to the middle of the floor to take a contested hook over multiple defenders.
Grade: C+
Gary Harris
26 minutes, 6 points, 2/4 3PT, -6
Gary Harris was one of the better defenders guarding Doncic and Reaves, and he also hit some timely three-pointers. It was a solid game for Harris. He didn’t put up much in terms of his other stats, but his job is to play defense and hit threes—he did that at a solid level.
Grade: B–
Doc Rivers
It’s hard to put much of the blame on the head coach when guys aren’t hitting their shots and aren’t executing on defense. While it’s an understandable loss to a Western Conference contender, the Bucks haven’t looked good any time they’ve had to back up on the second night of their back-to-backs this season.
Grade: C
Limited Minutes: Jericho Sims
Garbage Time: Thanasis Antetokounmpo, Mark Sears, Andre Jackson Jr., Amir Coffey
Inactive: Kevin Porter Jr., Taurean Prince, Pete Nance, Alex Antetokounmpo
Bonus Bucks Bits
- Giannis’ performance was the 156th time in his NBA career where he logged 30+ points, 10+ rebounds, and five+ assists. He just needs two more performances like that to past two Bucks legends in Kareem-Abdul Jabbar and Oscar Robertson for the most in NBA history.
- Coming into tonight, Giannis was averaging the most paint points in NBA history (since the NBA started tracking it in 1997), at over 23 points per game. He added another 16 tonight, going 8/14 from inside (57.1%).
- The Bucks struggled defending the pick-and-roll with Doncic tonight, with Ayton and Jaxson Hayes combining for 30 points. Rollins said that the communication has to be better in those moments, regardless of how tired they are:
“It boils down to that, and if you miscommunicate, then it kind of messes up the switches and getting back in front of it. [We have to] do a better job being on the same page of what we’re doing; it’s as simple as that.”
- The Bucks’ worst shooting performances have all come in the three games they’ve had on the SEGABABA. They shot 43% against the Toronto Raptors, 45% against the Dallas Mavericks, and the worst of the bunch last night against the Lakers at 40%.
- After starting the season 4-1, the Bucks have tailed off to go 4-6 since then, and haven’t won two in a row since they beat the New York Knicks and Golden State Warriors back in the second week of the season. Giannis talked about the need to be more humble in victory and learn how to improve from those games:
“I always try to play to win… If that’s going to be us winning two in a row, three in a row, 10 in a row, it doesn’t really matter to me. I just really want to keep on figuring out ways to win. We have to be more consistent and find a way to not be complacent when we have a good game. To come in here and being humble, to figure out a way to watch film and see what we can do better. We dropped the ball a little bit. We have to figure out ways, when we are in the high, to be humble enough to understand that we have 68 more games to go. We gotta keep on competing, gotta keep on learning, gotta keep watching film, see what we didn’t do well when we won the game. There are so many aspects in the game you can keep on getting better, and that’s what I think we are missing, being humble in victory.”
Up Next
The Bucks have an off day today as they travel to Cleveland for their second game of the season against the Cavaliers on Monday. The tip-off is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. Central from Rocket Arena, and you can watch it on Peacock or listen to it on the radio at 620 AM/103.3 FM.
