A late foul call thwarted the Los Angeles Lakers 4th quarter comeback as the Milwaukee Bucks escape LA with a 105-101 victory. The short-handed Lakers were lead by their aging veteran, LeBron James, who turned back the clock with a 29 point, 10 assist and 9 rebound performance. Luka Doncic, who currently sits atop as the league’s leading scorer, dropped 24 points and contributed 9 rebounds and 9 assists in the losing effort. Although Doncic struggled offensively, hitting just 8-25 of his field goal attempts, he had success from beyond the arc with 4 successful buckets out of 6. Jake LaRavia tried to make the most of his starting opportunity as he added 13 points while shooting an efficient 60 percent from downtown.
The rest of the Laker squad continued to struggle as no other player scored into double-digits. DeAndre Ayton provided four points and just 5 rebounds in 24 minutes of floor time. Marcus Smart provided 9 points in his starting role as Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura were unavailable due to injuries. LeBron James was listed as questionable prior to the game but fortunately, he was able to play. The Lakers bench was relatively quiet with Jarred Vanderbilt scoring 9 points and adding 9 rebounds while Gabe Vincent and Jaxson Hayes each contributed with 6 points.
The Bucks were lead by their star guard, Kevin Porter, Jr., as he scored 22 points on 50 percent shooting. All-star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo added 21 points on a staggering 81 percent shooting efficiency. Ryan Hollins would provide 10 points while AJ Green added 11. The Buck bench scorched the Lakers bench 33-25 with Kyle Kuzma leading the charge with 13 points. Bobby Portis also scored 11 in the wining effort.
The game started off competitive and the Lakers took an early 25-24 first quarter lead. However, the Bucks would take advantage of the struggling Doncic, getting him into foul trouble and would have a 9 point lead at the half. LeBron James must have taken a dip in the fountain of youth during the intermission as he kept the Lakers within striking distance in the second half. But it would be Giannis who would come up with the defensive steal on James that lead to Doncic picking up his sixth foul on a Kevin Porter, Jr. 3-point attempt with just 16 seconds remaining, sealing the Lakers fate.
The Lakers will have the weekend to right the ship before heading north to Sacramento on Monday to take on the Kings
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