Even without Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Bucks were able to rally past the Clippers on Monday night, 113-106. It was their sixth victory in a row, improving their regular season record to 41-21. Their recent success has brought them to the second seed in the East but they are still eight games behind conference leaders the Boston Celtics.
Damian Lillard starred for Milwalkee with 41 points on 12-22 shooting to go with 4 assists and 4 rebounds. Lillard had a great shooting night going a perfect 13-13 from the free throw line and 4-9 from three-point range in his 42 minutes.
Bobby Portis had a crucial 28 points and 16 rebounds off the bench, while Patrick Beverly added 12 points and 9 rebounds.
Overall the Bucks shot 47.4% from the field compared to the Clippers who only managed 44%. The real difference however came at the free throw line, with the Bucks scoring 8 more points from the charity stripe.
Both James Harden and Paul George scored 29 points for the Clippers and Kawhi Leonard added 16. The Clippers couldn’t get much from their bench who only managed 22 points.
The Bucks have been unbeaten since the All-Star break and look ready to begin their four-game road trip to California that starts Wednesday. They will play Golden State twice and have a rematch with the Clippers on Sunday.
Game Summary
The Clippers started the game hot, opening up a 10 point by the end of the 1st quarter to take control of the game. Milwaukee fought back in the second, amping up their defense to restrict the visitors to just 20 points in the quarter.
The third quarter started off great for the Clippers taking a 13 point lead into the final minute. From there the Bucks were able to push back, scoring 10 straight points to get back within striking distance. Eventually the game was all tied up at 96 with only 4:33 left.
Beverley came up big on defense, coming up with a couple of timely steals which led to easy points on the break away. With that the Bucks were able to create a small lead going into the final minutes, taking the game to 101-96 in their favor.
Even with the Clippers cutting into the lead multiple times down the stretch, the Bucks held on to win by 7.
The Clippers will next face the Rockets in Houston on Wednesday. The Bucks will look to extend their winning streak to 7 against the Golden State Warriors as they start their 4-game road trip.
Lakers Win At Home Against Thunder, 116-104
The Lakers were able to pull off a home win against the Thunder off the back of D’Angelo Russel who led the game in scoring with 26 points. Anthony Davis added 24 points and 12 rebounds, while Lebron James had 19 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists.
It was the Lakers 10th win in 14 games, as the team looks to secure a playoff spot. The Thunder on the other hand, came into the game with a Western Conference-leading 41-18 record. After the loss the Thunder fell down to second place behind the Minnesota Timberwolves by half a game.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander top scored for his team with 20 points. This ended his streak of eight consecutive 30-point games and resulted in the team’s second loss in nine games. Lu Dort and Chet Holmgren dropped 15 points each and Jason Giddey had 13.
The Thunder had a rough shooting start in the first half, hitting a season-low 30.6% of its shots. This was the team’s third stop of a four-game road trip which could explain why they seemed weary to begin.
Both James and Davis sat out most of the fourth quarter after the Lakers hit six 3-pointers in quick succession to pump their lead to 25. The Thunder also emptied their bench in the 4th, taking their starters out of the game for rest.
Next up for the Lakers will be the Sacramento Kings at home on Wednesday. The Thunder will also be playing on Wednesday on the road at Portland.
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