As one might imagine, the somber atmosphere from Wednesday night when Jabari Parker re-tore his ACL carried over to Friday, as the Bucks fell to the Lakers 122-14 at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.
A hot shooting first quarter separated the action early on. The Lakers put up 47 points on 82 percent shooting. It tied the 2016-17 NBA-high for points in a quarter in the first period (NYK, 11/17 at WAS). A large chunk of that came from the 3-point stripe, an area where they connected on 6-0f-7 shots. The sluggish performance only worsened in the second quarter. The Lakers continued shooting at an unreal clip and by the time the halftime buzzer sounded, the Bucks were down by 21.
The leading factor for the Lakers getting out in front by so much and so quick was Nick Young, who exploded for 26 points on the night.
Once again, the Bucks seemed to be lost on the offensive side of the ball. Giannis Antetokounmpo began the game at point guard, causing fans to become interested with what was going on. However, that phase did not last long, as Jason Kidd opted to go back to Matthew Dellavedova running the show. Miscommunication plagued the flow as well with the Bucks tallying 20 turnovers on the night.
Despite being down by a significant margin throughout the night, the Bucks were able to claw their way back and made it a 12 point game four minutes into the fourth quarter. Giannis Antetokounmpo played a major role, attacking the Lakers with 41 points on the night, a new career high. A 5-0 run by Malcolm Brogdon then slashed the Los Angeles lead to just seven points with 6:28 remaining.
The Lakers would go on a 5-o run themselves, sparked by a Julius Randle and-1. However, the Bucks persisted and kept hanging around. Multiple trades of baskets saw the game get as close as six points, but the Bucks could never pull through.
The highlight of the night was Giannis Antetokounmpo tallying a career-high in points. The Greek Freak also notched a career high in free throws, where he went 18-of-21. Only two other Bucks registered double-digit points, with Malcolm Brogdon posting 18 points and Michael Beasley with 15 of his own.
The Bucks are off until Monday night when they face the visiting Detroit Pistons. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.