After stacking up a few wins at home, the Los Angeles Lakers went on the road for a six-game swing that could determine their Play-In Tournament position.
The Lakers kicked off the road trip against the Milwaukee Bucks, a team they had beaten just a couple of weeks ago. Los Angeles got dealt a blow before opening tip when the team announced that LeBron James would miss the game due to his ankle.
Los Angeles has historically struggled to win without James, and the team looked like they were going to have eat a loss as they went down by 19 points in the first half. However, the Lakers battled back in the second half and pushed the Bucks to two overtime periods.
Both teams were gassed at the end, but L.A. managed to complete the comeback with a miraculous 128-124 win.
Anthony Davis has always taken the matchup Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks personally, and he continued that trend as he picked up the offensive slack with James out. Davis was a consistent source of offense throughout the night, scoring whenever he needed to to keep Los Angeles within striking distance.
Davis hit huge 3-pointers late in the fourth quarter and overtime periods, but he also changed the game defensively. The All-Star big man blocked Damian Lillard at the end of the first overtime and bottled up Antetokounmpo on the other end.
Davis finished the night with game-highs in points (34) and rebounds (23) to go along with two assists, four blocks and two steals. Despite hurting his knee at one point, Davis played 52 minutes on the night, which is the most for a Lakers player since Kobe Bryant in 2012.
Like Davis, Austin Reaves also looked to be more aggressive with James sidelined and he delivered as an on-ball scorer and playmaker. Reaves was a thorn in the Bucks’ side all night as he got nearly whatever shot he wanted while also putting his teammates in good positions to score.
Reaves has a knack for making shots in clutch moments and he showed why as he nailed the go-ahead 3-pointer in the final minute of the second overtime period.
Reaves recorded a massive triple-double, the second of his career, with 29 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists.
D’Angelo Russell was the hero when the Lakers beat the Bucks at home, and he rebounded from a slow start by catching fire in the third quarter. Russell had 29 points to go along with seven rebounds, 12 assists, two steals and one block.
Rui Hachimura scored timely buckets for the Lakers in the extra periods, finishing with 16 points, also cleaned up the boards as he pulled down a career-high 14.
What’s next for Lakers
Los Angeles doesn’t get much time to rest as they’ll continue their road trip on Wednesday against the Memphis Grizzlies. They’ll then face off against the Indiana Pacers on Friday.
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