Lakers drop to the Bucks as Andre Drummond exits early in his debut.
After coming into tonight’s matchup on a two-game winning streak, the Lakers streak came to an end after a great 2nd half from the Bucks, losing 112–98. The Lakers season record dropped to 30–18 after tonight’s loss keeping them in 4th place in the West. The Lakers are only one game ahead of the Denver Nuggets, who sit in 5th place in the West standings, giving the Lakers much more pressure to hold on and win games without their injured stars as the Western Conference looms.
The Milwaukee Bucks had one stellar performance finishing from the field in tonight’s ball game going 14 for 26 (53%) from the three-point line and 42 for 79 (54%) overall from the field. Los Angeles native Jrue Holiday led the way for the Bucks scoring a game-high 28 points on 11 of 16 (69%) shooting from the field while adding 8 rebounds and 6 assists in 34 minutes of action. The Bucks two-time MVP Giannis Antetokoumpo finished second in scorer in tonight’s game with 25 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 blocks on 8 of 13 (61%) shooting overall.
The Lakers’ new addition, Andre Drummond made his Laker debut tonight, but only saw 14 minutes of action after suffering a right toe contusion in the 3rd quarter. Drummond said after the game his toenail came off after Bucks Brook Lopez stepped on it. In the 14 minutes of action tonight, Drummond finished with 4 points, 1 rebound, and 1 block on 2 of 6 (33%) shooting from the field. The test on Drummond’s right toe came back negative after tonight’s game and he spoke on the injury saying:
“I’ve lost a toenail before, but this was very, very painful. My head is high. I’m going to take it day by day and come back better than ever.”
The leading scorer on the night for this Lakers team was their 6th man energizer Montrezl Harrell. In 25 minutes, Harrell had 19 points and 5 rebounds on 6 of 11 shooting from the field and a perfect 7 for 7 from the foul line.
The Lakers failed to score over 100 points in tonight’s matchup because of their poor performance from the field as a team. After the first quarter, it looked like the Lakers were going to have one of their best games, shooting from the three after going 8 for 13 (61%) from the three to end the 1st quarter. Then the Lakers went completely cold from the perimeter only hitting 2 three’s after their hot 1st quarter going 10 for 36 (28%) from three. The Lakers finished with 22 turnovers in tonight’s loss their 2nd most this season.
The Lakers had 3 starters finish in double figures tonight as the starting unit combined for 54 points. Dennis Schroder led the starting unit with 17 points and 8 assists on 6 of 18 (33%) shooting from the field. Kyle Kuzma added 16 points and 7 rebounds on 7 of 17 (41%) shooting in 34 minutes of action.
In 28 minutes, Markieff Morris finished with a solid performance of 15 points and 6 rebounds on 3 of 5 (60%) shooting from the three and 5 for 8 (62%) overall. What Morris has done in the past week has to be mentioned, with solid performances for this squad. He has provided a quiet stellar role in the starting unit since the injury to Anthony Davis. Morris spoke on Drummond’s injury and on top of LeBron James and Anthony Davis’ injuries:
“It just makes for a better ending. That’s how we look at it.”
The Lakers’ next 7 games will be on the road starting this Friday against the Sacramento Kings. The Kings are 7–3 in their last 10 games as they are battling hard for that 8th seed spot in the West. With Andre Drummond’s status in the air after he was reported to be re-evaluated tomorrow, the Lakers will look to continue as they were before Drummond with Gasol starting at the 5. Look for the Lakers to bounce back against a weaker Western Conference team this Friday and get back on track to the win column.