Brandon Ingram Starts Perfect But Lakers Fade Late In Loss To Bucks

Matthew Moreno
3 Min Read
Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports

Keeping with what’s held true for much of the season, the Los Angeles Lakers played to the level of their competition Friday night but they ultimately came up short in a 131-120 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.

The Bucks extended their road game winning streak to 10 games and clinched a spot in the Eastern Conference Playoffs. The Lakers were in position to notch an impressive win despite an inauspicious shooting start for Rajon Rondo.

While Rondo entered the night shooting a career-high 40 percent from deep, he missed five straight 3-pointers. He shot seven of them within the first six minutes, as the Staples Center crowd grew more anxious with each of the attempts, and went delirious when Rondo connected. That wound up being the start of a stretch where Rondo made 3-of-4 attempts from three.

As Rondo eventually found his shooting stroke, Brandon Ingram and LeBron James were instrumental to the Lakers taking a lead. Ingram made his first nine baskets before missing a 3-pointer early in the third quarter.

He was hardly deterred, following that up with a emphatic one-handed slam dunk over former teammate Brook Lopez. Ingram finished with a team-high 31 points.

Having stressed the importance of the Lakers not losing focus of the Bucks supporting cast, James defended Lopez for much of the night and managed to prevent him from doing much damage behind the arc.

The Lakers built up a double-digit lead only to squander it during the third quarter. Compounding matters was the Bucks’ run came while Giannis Antetokounmpo was on the bench.

L.A. responded to reclaim the lead and spent much of the fourth quarter going toe-to-toe with the Bucks. Two Lakers turnover, giving them just eight in the game, played a role in the Bucks going on an 8-0 mini run and taking control of the game with less than two minutes remaining.

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Matthew Moreno is a journalist from Whittier, Calif., who is a credentialed reporter and is currently the Managing Editor of DodgerBlue.com and LakersNation.com. In addition to covering Los Angeles Dodgers and Los Angels Lakers games, Matthew has a strong passion for keeping up to date with the sneakerhead culture. It began with Michael Jordan and Air Jordan shoes, and has carried over to Kobe Bryant's signature line with Nike. Matthew previously was the lead editor and digital strategist at Dodgers Nation, and the co-editor and lead writer at Reign of Troy, where he covered USC Trojans Football. Matthew graduated from California State Long Beach University with a major in journalism and minor in communications. Contact: matt@mediumlargela.com