Lakers fall to Bucks for their second straight loss.
The Lakers fall to the reigning champions Milwaukee Bucks 109–102, moving their season record to 8–8 to move them back to .500 on the year. In a close back and forth second half, the Lakers' struggles continued from three, going 0 for 11 deep in the 4th quarter, shooting 28% (12–43) overall from beyond the arc.
The biggest turning point of tonight's Lakers loss came from last season's finals MVP Giannis Antetokoumpo. Antetokoumpo completely dominated all cylinders for the Bucks, scoring 47 points on 18 of 23 (78%) from the field and 3 for 4 (75%) from three, while also grabbing nine rebounds and dishing three assists to help push the Bucks past the Lakers.
Talen Horton-Tucker was tonight's leading scorer for the Lakers, scoring 25 points on 50% (9–18) shooting from the field and from three while also grabbing 12 rebounds to give him his first double-double of the season. Since Horton-Tucker returned to the Lakers lineup from injury, he has provided this team with great versatility, averaging 23 points a game in three games since his return to the lineup.
Talen Horton-Tucker in the past three games:
Vs. Bucks: 25 PTS
Vs. Bulls: 28 PTS
Vs. Spurs: 17 PTS
Showing just how much of an impact he’s been for the purple in gold with players in-and-out of the lineup.
After leaving Monday's loss to the Bulls after picking up his second technical, Anthony Davis was outplayed in a Giannis vs. Davis matchup, scoring 18 points in 37 minutes on 9 of 15 (60%) overall from the field. Davis was asked if he can evaluate the Lakers team currently at 8–8, which has had some key guys in and out of the lineup since the start of the season. "We put a team together, and we haven't seen it yet," he said.
Russell Westbrook was the Lakers' second-leading scorer in tonight's loss, and he played as head coach Frank Vogel described as "his best game as a Laker." In 35 minutes, Westbrook scored 15 points on 7 of 16 (44%) shooting overall from the floor and dished out 15 assists. Westbrook cut his turnovers down to just three tonight, in an area he has struggled with all year.
This Friday, the Lakers will face the 7–8 Boston Celtics on the road in a historic matchup. This matchup could have LeBron James back in the lineup for the first time since November 2nd, as he is listed as day-to-day and is looking like a 50–50 for him to play against the historic rival.