After a double-overtime victory over the Chicago Bulls on Thursday night, the Los Angeles Lakers dropped their next game at Madison Square Garden against the New York Knicks on Sunday.
They continue their Grammy road trip against the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday, looking to get back in the win column. The Bucks come into the game on a four-game win streak and sit at 26-22 on the year. Brandon Knight leads the way with 17.7 points and 5.3 assists per game.
As for the Lakers, they will be without Jordan Hill, who left Sunday’s game with a hip flexor injury. Tarik Black received the starting nod.
First Quarter
Giannis Antetokounmpo scored the first four points of the game via free throws and a slam dunk. The Lakers quickly came back with a Robert Sacre dunk and a Wayne Ellington three-pointer. Baskets were traded to the tune of a 13-12 score at the six minute mark. Threes by Jared Dudley and O.J. Mayo put the Bucks ahead 21-14. The Lakers fought back to tie at the game at 21 following another trey from Ellington. However, that would quickly be erased as the Bucks scored the next five points. Nick Young came off the bench and immediately made a three-pointer to make it 26-24. The score would remain that way to end the first, and Ellington led the way with nine points.
Second Quarter
Antetokounmpo once again started the quarter with the first four points. Jeremy Lin and Carlos Boozer answered back to tie the game at 30. A 10-0 run by the Lakers ensued and put them ahead by seven with 5:41 left in the half. Wesley Johnson landed wrong on a long-distance shot and went to the locker room. The lead was pushed to 10 before Antetokounmpo made a pair of free throws to make it 43-35. Over the next three minutes, the teams continue to trade baskets and free throws with Sacre scoring four points for the Lakers. After the Bucks scored eight of the final 10 points in the half, the Lakers led 54-46 at the half. Boozer and Young were the top scorers, dropping 14 and 12 points, respectively.
Third Quarter
Ellington started the second half with a jumper to put the Lakers up 10. A back-and-forth exchange of baskets was broken up by a free throw by John Henson that made the score 61-55. A lull in the game saw just four points in two minutes of basketball before a timeout at the 5:28 mark with the score 63-57. A deep three-ball by Ellington put him at 14 points for the game. An 17-0 run by the Bucks put them ahead by eight with under two minutes left in the quarter. The Lakers were unable to get a basket over the last five minutes until Young scored in the paint with 30 seconds to go. After three quarters, the Bucks led 74-68.
Fourth Quarter
Mayo and Johnson started the final quarter with a basket apiece to make it 76-70. Three free throws and a Young jumper cut the deficit to three. Another two-minute dry streak left the score at 78-75 with just over seven minutes left. Lin broke it up with a pair of free throws to cut the deficit to one. Boozer followed a turnover with a wide-open layup to keep the Lakers within one. Young airballed a three-point shot, but the Bucks were unable to capitalize. Ellington added to his point total with a jumper and gave the Lakers the lead at 83-82. Consecutive shots by Boozer and Davis put the lead at five. After the Bucks scored, Davis threw down a dunk off a Lin miss to make it 91-85. Mayo responded with a three-pointer to cut it to three, but Lin then responded with one of his own. Knight then followed with another trey to make it 94-91 with 20 seconds. Lin chucked up a deep ball and gave the Bucks the ball back with six seconds. Mayo hit the game-tying three with half a second left to send the game into overtime.
Overtime
Knight started the extra time with a three-pointer to make it 97-94. He quickly added another basket, but Ellington hit a three to keep the deficit to two. Antetokounmpo came back with a basket plus a free throw. Boozer scored on the Lakers’ end to make it 104-99. The Lakers cut the deficit to one with consecutive baskets; however, Knight responded with a long-range shot to put the Bucks up four with just under a minute. Two bad possessions by the Lakers sealed the deal for the Bucks, as they were forced to foul. Boozer finished with 28 points and nine rebounds to lead the Lakers in the loss. The final score was 113-105.
