Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 24 points with 12 boards and nine assists to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to a 126-106 win over the visiting Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night.
Three other Bucks scored more than 20 to help Milwaukee end its three-game skid, including Brook Lopez with 23, Kevin Porter Jr. with 22 off the bench and Damian Lillard who scored 22 with 10 assists.
Luka Doncic shined for Los Angeles, who lost its third in a row, leading the way with 45 points on 14-for-27 shooting from the floor along with 11 rebounds. Austin Reaves added 28 points.
The first half of this one saw Milwaukee battling back-and-forth with Doncic. In the first quarter, Doncic made four of his first six shots, scoring 16 points, but Milwaukee led 33-29 going into the second.
The Bucks 3-point shooting was strong in the half, going 11-for-23 and ending the half up 71-63 despite 29 points from Doncic on 9-for-15 shooting.
Lillard and Kevin Porter Jr. each led the Bucks with 15 as Lillard also led with eight assists. Antetokounmpo had just six of his points at the break.
Antetokounmpo became more aggressive in the second half, leading the Bucks with 12 points in the third quarter alone and Milwaukee’s 3-pointers continued to fall as they went into the fourth up 102-82.
The Lakers shot just 32 percent from the floor in the third and got outscored 31-19. While they stayed close enough to keep Doncic in the game late despite another game ahead of them tomorrow night, Milwaukee cruised to victory in the latter half of the fourth.
In total, Milwaukee shot 17-for-40 (42.5 percent) from beyond the arc.
The Bucks end their two-game losing streak against the Lakers after Los Angeles swept the two-game set a year ago. These teams will face each other once again in L.A. in one week’s time.
