Giannis, Bucks Blow Out LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Lakers
The Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers continue to trend in opposite directions.
Milwaukee completed its season sweep of Los Angeles with a 131-116 victory in Tuesday's showdown at Crypto.com Arena. Giannis Antetokounmpo led the way for the Bucks, who improved to 35-21 on the season with a fourth consecutive win.
A solid showing from LeBron James wasn't enough for the Lakers, who dropped to 26-29 overall and 2-5 in the last seven games.
Notable Player Stats
- Giannis Antetokounmpo, F, MIL: 44 PTS (17-of-20 FG), 15 REB, 8 AST, 2 BLK
- Khris Middleton, F, MIL: 21 PTS, 5 REB, 4 AST
- Bobby Portis, F, MIL: 23 PTS, 7 REB, 2 STL
- Jrue Holiday, G, MIL: 15 PTS, 10 AST, 7 REB, 2 STL
- LeBron James, F, LAL: 27 PTS, 8 AST, 5 REB
- Anthony Davis, F, LAL: 22 PTS, 9 REB, 4 AST, 3 BLK
Bucks Have No Trouble with Sub-.500 Opponent
Entering Tuesday's slate, a mere 4.5 games separated the top-seeded Miami Heat and the sixth-seeded Toronto Raptors in the Eastern Conference. The tight race underscores how dramatic of a difference every single win can make as the season enters the stretch run and how important it is to win the easier matchups.
Milwaukee may not have circled a game against the Lakers as one of those matchups with a bad team coming into the season, but the reality is the Purple and Gold are below .500 and a group the Bucks need to beat if they are going to get the No. 1 seed.
The visitors wasted no time taking advantage of the opportunity while building a 22-point halftime lead. Antetokounmpo looked well on his way to a triple-double while overpowering his way through defenders, battling for boards and facilitating, while connecting on all eight of his field-goal attempts—two of which were three-pointers—in the first half.
It was far from a one-man show, as Khris Middleton quickly found his shooting stroke while pouring in 21 points before intermission. Throw in Jrue Holiday distributing and the combination of Grayson Allen and Pat Connaughton providing a spark, and this game was seemingly over at the half.
Bobby Portis got a turn to get in on the fun in the third quarter, and the forward caught fire from deep while all five starters reached double figures well before the fourth.
Antetokounmpo continued to stuff the stat sheet as well even though he finally missed a shot in the second half. The only question by the fourth quarter was whether he would notch his triple-double, and it certainly helped his assist total that everyone was so dialed in around him even if he fell just short.
Milwaukee can win plenty of games with the two-time MVP taking over, but it is nearly unbeatable if the whole team plays like it did against the lackluster Lakers.
Lakers Defense Nowhere to be Found in Loss
As if facing the defending champions wasn't enough of a challenge for the struggling Lakers, head coach Frank Vogel told reporters Carmelo Anthony (hamstring) and Dwight Howard (back) would not play.
What's more, the plan was to play James fewer than the 40 minutes he saw in Saturday's game against the New York Knicks. Getting blown out was one way to accomplish that plan.
While James did what he could as the primary scorer and facilitator, the Lakers were completely overmatched on the defensive end. They had no answers for the Antetokounmpo-Middleton combination, and Milwaukee as a whole shot a blistering 68.2 percent from the field in the first half while creating a number of easy looks.
It didn't help that Russell Westbrook continued to deal with inconsistent shooting, but he was far from the biggest issue in this one, as Los Angeles immediately fell into comeback mode.
There were some bright spots, such as LeBron's dunk over Antetokounmpo or his lob to Davis, but Tuesday was another ugly showing in a season full of them for one of the most disappointing teams in the league.
It reached a point that Milwaukee's entire bench was essentially dancing onto the court after Portis drilled a wide-open three from the corner. Even on cruise control after a dominant first half, the Bucks still reached triple digits in the middle of the third quarter and had no trouble scoring whenever they needed to against the Lakers.
Perhaps the presence of James and Davis will be enough to elevate Los Angeles come playoff time, but the defense on display Tuesday will undercut any of those efforts.
What's Next?
The Lakers are at the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday, while the Bucks conclude their four-game road trip Thursday against the Phoenix Suns.
