+29 points on the floor of the Blazers, +24 on the floor of the Clippers… The Bucks have started a demolition operation with this “road trip” to the West. New show of force, still in Los Angeles, against the Lakers who failed to keep up. Milwaukee thus confirms its great form of the moment with a fourth victory in a row, the eighth in their last ten outings. Where the Lakers sink into the negative…
It only took a few minutes for the Bucks offense to find its rhythm. Rather than shooting from afar, visitors will take advantage of the lack of protection in the opposing circle to score at will in the paint. The Lakers did try to take Giannis Antetokounmpo two to the post but Pat Connaughton, very open, took the opportunity to sanction from afar.
The Crypto.com Arena was already showing signs of annoyance when it saw Russell Westbrook losing two balls in a row (foot on the line and walking from the start) or Anthony Davis losing the leather on his own.
With an unleashed Khris Middleton at halfway, the Bucks took the lead after the first quarter (24-38). Impression confirmed during the second with a Middleton, who only scored in the first period, still just as hot, who chained an action at “3+1” then another award-winning basket. If the Austin Reaves – LeBron James relationship still worked well on offense, the Lakers defense remained overwhelmed by the opposing pace. Despite 50% success, the Californians were led by 22 points at the break (56-78).
With a Giannis determined not to miss a shot in this part, Milwaukee continued to widen the gap, counting up to 30 points ahead (66-96). Seeing the very good Bobby Portis still find himself alone in the corner, in transition, we had the feeling that this match took on the air of an All-Star Game before the hour… Without defense on the part of the Lakers therefore. The latter, after an individual feat from LeBron James, returned to their bench with their heads bowed before the final period (85-109).
A reaction from the locals will finally take place in the following minutes. With a bit of better defensive, coupled with the offensive slack of the Bucks, the Lakers went 23-9 in a few minutes to afford the hope of coming back (108-118). In this sequence, Malik Monk, Stanley Johnson and the others spent their time attacking the circle in force. Unfortunately for them, the Bucks did not panic, like a Jrue Holiday unfazed in his choices to secure the victory of his people.
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
– The Lakers’ absence of defense for three quarters. Faced with a duo of interiors Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis, long, mobile and capable of sanctioning from afar, the Lakers suffered a lot, including Anthony Davis. They suffered so much that they “let” the Bucks shoot at 68% in a historically bad first period for the Californians: they had never conceded so many points (78) on their floor in the first 24 minutes.
– Unplayable Bucks Attack. Milwaukee had successively had its two best offensive performances of the year with 137 points against the Blazers and then against the Clippers. They followed up with another outing at over 130 points. A statistic to remember about them this season: when they score at least 117 points, they systematically win. That’s 25 wins!
TOPS/FLOPS
✅ Giannis Antetokounmpo. Three letters to comment on his performance: MVP!
✅ Jrue Holiday. While Khris Middleton had a huge start to the game before completely fading in the second half, the Bucks point guard was more consistent throughout the game. He was especially decisive in the last moments by shifting, for example, Bobby Portis in the corner or by snatching an offensive rebound before finding his Greek.
✅ The pair LeBron James – Anthony Davis. Well supported by a handful of “role players” (Malik Monk, Stanley Johnson and Austin Reaves), the two superstars filled their line of stats but were unable to mobilize their team sufficiently in defense. The most mobilized player in this part, “AD” would undoubtedly have deserved to obtain a few additional shot tickets.
⛔ Russell Westbrook. Apart from a few circle attacks, a few good balls to LeBron James and his rebound activity, the Lakers point guard still missed out, with his usual mistakes. Frank Vogel did without him for the whole of the fourth quarter. At the very end of the match, on the bench, we saw him trying to give good vibes to LeBron James and Anthony Davis who did not seem particularly receptive…
THE FOLLOWING
Lakers (26-29) : moving to Portland, the next night.
Bucks (35-21) : trip to Phoenix, Thursday, for the remake of the Finals.
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