2 Winners, 2 Losers in Bucks loss to Luka's Lakers

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We saw a different starting lineup for the Milwaukee Bucks against the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night, as Kel'el Ware replaced Myles Turner, who was out for rest, and the rookie Nate Ament made his first career start, replacing Jaime Jaquez Jr.
It would be a 123-112 loss for the Bucks as Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves combined for 50 points to lead the Lakers to a victory. Outside of the team's two leading scorers, Tyler Herro and Jaime Jaquez Jr., there wasn't much production offensively to keep up with Los Angeles which had five players in double-digits for points.
Milwaukee ended the second night of its back-to-back with a loss and tie the worst start in Bucks history with an 1-11 record. Here are the winners and losers from the matchup.
Winner: Tyler Herro
After missing the last game against because of an right knee contusion, it didn't take long for Herro to pick up right where he left off as the team's leading scorer. He would finish the game with 27 points and seven assists while shooting 8-for-16 (50%) from the field.
Eighteen of those points and all of his assists came in the first half where he also shot 7-for-13 53.8%) from the field and 2-for-5 (40%) from the 3-point line. People always point to his scoring ability that makes him such a threat offensively and while that is true, he's started to also separates himself as a playmaker.
Because he draws so much attention as the Bucks' most consistent scorer, it can create opportunities for the rest of the team where he's able to dish it off for open looks. Herro doing everything he can for his team has been the trend for the majority of the season, and tonight was no different as his team falls despite another good performance.
Winner: Jaime Jaquez Jr.
The bench is not unfamiliar territory for Jaquez in his early career, as before being traded to the Bucks, he only started in 38 of the 216 games he played in for the Heat. He was the runner-up for the Sixth Man of the Year award last season and channeled that mindset against the Lakers.
He finished the game with a season-high 25 points to go with five rebounds, three assists and two steals on 7-for-16 (43.8%) shooting from the field. Jaquez has started the season on the right foot as the team's second-leading scorer on good efficiency from both the field and the 3-point line, so even being moved to the bench, it's nice to see that he can still impact the game at a high level.
Loser: Kel'el Ware
With Turner resting, it was a golden opportunity for Kel'el Ware to take advantage of the start and make his presence felt against Los Angeles. It wasn't going to be easy by any means with Walker Kessler, the league's third-leading shot blocker guarding him, but it would interesting to see what Ware could do as a starter.
Unfortunately, it wasn't much, as he finished the night with eight points, five rebounds and three blocks while shooting 3-for-8 (37.5%) from the field and missing both of his 3-point attempts. Besides Herro and Jaquez, the whole team was pretty underwhelming, but for Ware, it was a great chance to gain some momentum after a few poor games and Turner being out, but he couldn’t exactly capitalize on the opportunity.
Loser: Offense outside of Herro and Jaquez
Outside of Herro and Jaquez, there was little to no offense for Milwaukee. While the duo combined for 52 points, the rest of the team combined for only 60 points while shooting 20-for-48 (41.6%) from the field.
The team's third-leading scorer was tie with nine points being Kyle Kuzma and Ousmane Dieng. It was going to be an uphill battle agaisnt the top team in the Western Conference, but to not have anyone else to step up and help Herro and Jaquez, it was going to be almost impossible.
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Glen (Tre) Allen is from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He attended Louisiana State University, where he graduated with a BA in journalism. Working for the student newspaper, The Reveille, he covered LSU football and men’s and women’s basketball, writing game stories, analysis and profiles.