The Los Angeles Lakers are going to have to grind out wins the rest of the way as their schedule does not let up anytime soon. After a brutal loss to the Sacramento Kings, the Lakers hosted the Milwaukee Bucks in a marquee matchup on Friday night
Los Angeles announced LeBron James would miss the game after tweaking his left ankle late against Sacramento. Without James, the rest of the team would need to find a way to make up for his loss on both ends of the floor.
Surprisingly, the Lakers were able to meet the challenge as they kept pace with the Bucks for the entire night. Fortunately, D’Angelo Russell was able to carry the offense and Los Angeles would go on to upset Milwaukee in a thriller.
Russell is in the midst of the best shooting stretch of his career and there was no better night for him to stay hot than against the Bucks. Without James, Russell was even more aggressive looking for his shot and he torched Milwaukee’s defense from outside and within the arc.
The former No. 2 overall pick caught fire from deep as he tied his career-high for made 3-pointers with nine. However, his biggest shot of the night came in the final minute when he drove past Damian Lillard and nailed a tough floater which would end up being the game-winning shot.
Russell set a new season-high in points with 44, but he also added nine assists and six rebounds.
Anthony Davis has always seemingly taken his matchup with Giannis Antetokounmpo seriously, and the two star big men went right at each other from the jump. Davis got the best of Antetokounmpo on several occasions, including a highlight block in the third quarter that resulted in a 24-second violation.
However, Davis appeared to hurt his shoulder when he attempted to take a charge on Antetokounmpo. Davis was visibly in pain, but gutted it out until the final buzzer. He had another double-double with 22 points and 13 rebounds to go along with five assists and three blocks.
Austin Reaves was solid in a tertiary offensive role, scoring 18 points and dishing out seven assists. His highlight-reel moment came at the end of the third when he stole the inbounds pass and scored a tough layup.
What’s next for Lakers
Things don’t get any easier for the Lakers as they’ll play host to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday. They’ll then hit the road where they’ll look to avenge their loss to the Kings on their home turf.
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