The Milwaukee Bucks ended their three-game losing streak, beating the Los Angeles Lakers 126-106. Four players hit double figures tonight for the Bucks, but they were led by backup point guard Kevin Porter Jr. and Giannis Antetokounmpo, who had 22 and 24 points, respectively. Luka Doncic had an incredible individual performance for the Lakers, going off for 45 points, 11 rebounds, and three assists.
Game Recap
Giannis got things rocking early with two dunks, one after getting the mismatch on Doncic. Both sides traded buckets for a bit, but it ended up being a very low-scoring first quarter for both sides. After a Gabe Vincent layup made it a four-point game, neither side could find the bottom of the net for just over two minutes, including a stretch where Vincent missed three wide-open corner threes for the LA. With the Lakers missing two out of their three starters in the frontcourt (Jaxson Hayes and LeBron James), it was Giannis and Brook Lopez who rightfully took advantage, scoring a combined 17 of the Bucks’ 33 points in the frame. Even with that duo cooking, the dominance of Luka kept the Lakers in it, scoring 16 of the Lakers’ 24 before exiting the final two minutes, shooting 5/7 from the free-throw line and 3/4 from the three-point line. He was the only Laker with more than one bucket outside of rookie Dalton Knecht, as the Bucks held a four-point lead heading into the second quarter, 33-29.
The Bucks kept their momentum from the end of the first into the start of the second, with Milwaukee going on a 9-0 run to open up an 11-point lead. It was punctuated by the second lob to Jericho Sims in the quarter, forcing a timeout from Lakers head coach JJ Redick. Yet, whenever you have a top-five player in the sport, you’re never truly out of any game, and Luka made it his mission to keep his team in it. Doncic scored or assisted on 12 of the next 15 points for the Lakers, as they brought the game within two with 5:31 until half. Kevin Porter Jr. probably had one of his best quarters as a Buck, scoring nine points on three shots from beyond the arc, as he pushed the Bucks ahead by as many as 14 points. Luka and Austin Reaves would get the lead down to just five, but a Gary Trent Jr three-ball with 14 seconds left sent both teams to the locker room with Milwaukee up by eight.
The Lakers did attempt to trim the Bucks’ lead, getting it down to six points with just over 10 minutes to play in the third. However, from then on, it was all Bucks, as they went on an extended 23-7 run over the next 6:08 to take a 22-point lead with 3:39 to go in the quarter. KPJ continued to light it up from deep, hitting his fifth three of the game to give him 20 points. The Bucks outscored the Lakers 31-19 in the period and took a 20-point lead into the final quarter of regulation, 102-82.
It was a little shaky out of the gate of the fourth quarter for the Bucks, as the Lakers were able to quickly cut that lead down to 16 with 8:27 left, forcing head coach Doc Rivers to call a timeout. Doc put in the starters, save for Gary Trent Jr., and the Bucks were able to put the game back over 20 points, growing as large as 21 points throughout the period. Giannis checked out with 2:51 to go and shortly after that, Rivers emptied the bench by putting in Ryan Rollins, Pete Nance, Andre Jackson Jr., and Chris Livingston en route to the win.
Stat That Stood Out
There were many stats in the Bucks’ favor tonight, but the biggest one might have been the turnover battle. As a team the Bucks only had 10 turnovers tonight, while Luka Doncic on his own had six of the Lakers’ 14. Milwaukee was able to turn those 14 turnovers into 16 points en route to the win.
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