Bucks Zone

The Milwaukee Bucks turn back the Los Angeles Lakers for 9th straight win

Led by Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Milwaukee Bucks rallied in the second half to secure their ninth straight win.
Matthew Dugandzic|
The Milwaukee Bucks turn back the Los Angeles Lakers for 9th straight win
The Milwaukee Bucks turn back the Los Angeles Lakers for 9th straight win

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Milwaukee BucksLos Angeles Lakers

The streaking Milwaukee Bucks came out firing in the third period and cruised to a 115-106 win over the depleted Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night.

Strong second half

Down eight at the half, 50-58, the Bucks buckled down to work in the third, outscoring the Lakers, 38-23, to take the lead for good, 88-81, going into the final period.

Milwaukee thus stretched its winning streak to nine, improving to 2-0 in its three-game road trip—all against Western Conference teams.

Giannis Antetokounmpo had another big game for the Bucks, tallying 38 points and 10 rebounds, and was also instrumental in the team’s second-half surge. Antetokounmpo produced 23 points in the final half, allowing the Bucks to tie their longest winning streak in the season since racking up nine straight victories to start the tournament.

Khris Middleton had another productive outing coming off the bench, scoring 22 points in 25 minutes of play, his longest playing time since returning from an 18-game absence.

Jrue Holiday added 18 points, while Grayson Allen pitched in 12. Brook Lopez only had nine points but was superb on the defensive end for the Bucks, as he finished with ten rebounds and three blocked shots.

Short-handed

The sputtering Lakers absorbed a third straight setback, failing to overcome the absence of LeBron James, who sat out after becoming the league’s all-time leading scorer in the teams’ 130-133 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder the other night.

The Lakers, who got a team-high 25 points from Dennis Schroder and 23 points from Anthony Davis, were also without their new acquisitions.

D’Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley, Jarred Vanderbilt, and Mo Mamba didn’t suit up after the Lakers acquired them in separate deals before the trade deadline that saw the departure of Russell Westbrook and Patrick Beverley from the team. Milwaukee’s own newest acquisition Jae Crowder also did not suit up. 

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Matthew Dugandzic
MATTHEW DUGANDZIC

Matthew finished his bachelor's degree in Economics (Management) at the University of Split and got his master's degree in the same field at the University of Zadar. Whether it is playing the game as an undersized 6'3'' power forward or simply watching it, Matthew can't get enough of it. After all, he has been an avid NBA fan since the 2000s. But don't get him wrong, as Matthew still loves the old-school NBA and is a true student of the game. From on-court moments to off-court stuff, whether it's about the stars of modern-day basketball or legends of the game, Matthew covers every category of the NBA world and basketball in general, as long as it makes for an engaging and exciting story.