Milwaukee Bucks look to snap skid against short-handed Los Angeles Lakers

MILWAUKEE – Two contending teams dwelling on brief losing streaks look to get back on track on March 13 (March 14, Singapore time), when the Milwaukee Bucks host the Los Angeles Lakers.

Los Angeles were one of the hottest teams in the National Basketball Association (NBA), winning eight in a row, before losing back-to-back road games against the Boston Celtics and Brooklyn Nets. They fell to the Nets 111-108 on March 10 without LeBron James.

“I don’t think being short-handed is an excuse for how we played basketball tonight,” Lakers coach J.J. Redick said. “We ball-watched all night. They probably made six to seven uncontested (three-pointers). Just shortcuts; you got to do the hard stuff.”

The Bucks come in off a heartbreaker as they lost 115-114 to the Indiana Pacers on March 11 in Indianapolis, thanks to Tyrese Haliburton’s running three that became a game-winning four-point play in the final seconds.

It marked the Bucks’ third straight loss and a missed opportunity against a team they are battling in the Eastern Conference standings.

“I thought our turnovers really hurt us... we had bad turnovers tonight,” Bucks coach Doc Rivers said. “They were the type of turnovers that they (the Pacers) get, we made turnovers that you just can’t make in a play-off game.”

The Bucks turned the ball over 15 times in the defeat.

Giannis Antetokounmpo leads Milwaukee with 30.7 points and 12.1 rebounds per game. Damian Lillard is dishing out just over seven assists a night and Brook Lopez averages 1.9 blocks.

James leads the Lakers with 25 points and 8.5 assists per game. In 12 games since joining the team, Luka Doncic has averaged 24.5 points, 8.4 rebounds and eight assists.

On the injury front, James remains out with a groin strain that will bench him for at least one to two weeks. Rui Hachimura (knee) is out for the team’s entire road trip. Jaxson Hayes (knee) and Dorian Finney-Smith (ankle) missed the March 10 game and their status for March 13 has yet to be determined.

For Milwaukee, Bobby Portis (suspension) remains out. Tyler Smith (back) and Chris Livingston (illness) both missed the March 11 game as well.

The March 13 game marks their first meeting this season – with the other taking place on March 20 in Los Angeles.

The Lakers have won two in a row over Milwaukee thanks to 2024’s entertaining sweep. The Lakers won 123-122 in Los Angeles before taking a 128-124 double overtime victory in Milwaukee.

James also missed the 2024 visit to Fiserv Forum. Antetokounmpo notched 29 points and 21 rebounds, and Lillard had 27 points and eight assists in the latest meeting. Before last season, the Lakers had not swept Milwaukee since 2009-10.

The Lakers lead the NBA in one specific stat: field goal percentage in the restricted area (72.3 per cent). Antetokounmpo and Lopez will play a key role in stopping those shots, as will Jericho Sims, who was acquired at the deadline and has seen increased playing time with Portis out.

In NBA action on March 12, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 34 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder punched their ticket to the play-offs with an impressive 118-112 victory over reigning champions the Boston Celtics in a potential NBA Finals sneak preview.

Gilgeous-Alexander enhanced his credentials as favourite for the Most Valuable Player award with a superb performance to silence Boston’s TD Garden home crowd, in an absorbing duel settled by a burst of fourth-quarter Thunder scoring.

The Canadian point guard shot 11 of 20 from the field to finish with five rebounds, seven assists and 34 points, including 10 of 11 from the free-throw line.

The win lifted Western Conference leaders Oklahoma City to 54-12 and guaranteed their place in April’s play-offs.

Gilgeous-Alexander said the Thunder’s defensive solidity amid a barrage of 63 attempted threes from Boston had provided the foundation for the win.

“We were able to get stops, and that’s been the trend for us recently,” he told ESPN. “When you’re coming down the stretch against a good basketball team with good players, you’ve got to find a way, and we did so tonight and gave ourselves a chance.” REUTERS, AFP