MILWAUKEE _ A shaken and defenseless Milwaukee Bucks team had no answers for the Los Angeles Lakers in the first half Friday night.
Sparked by Giannis Antetokounmpo and rookie Thon Maker, the Bucks rallied in the fourth quarter before dropping a 122-114 decision to the Lakers at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.
The Bucks were playing their first game since losing forward Jabari Parker to a serious knee injury Wednesday night.
Milwaukee trailed by as many as 27 points but cut the Lakers' lead to 111-105 on a 3-pointer by Jason Terry with 2:38 remaining.
But Julius Randle scored over the long reach of Antetokounmpo to put the Lakers ahead by eight.
Nick Young led the Lakers (19-37) with 26 points and Lou Williams had 21 off the bench.
Antetokounmpo paced Milwaukee with a career-high 41 points while Malcolm Brogdon added 18 and Michael Beasley 15.
Maker, who started at power forward in Parker's place, finished with seven points and six rebounds in 17 minutes.
The Lakers took a 47-30 lead after one quarter and hit 82 percent of their shots in the quarter (18 of 22).
Four Lakers were in double figures in the first half, led by Young with 15 points on 5-of-5 shooting. D'Angelo Russell added 12 and Ivica Zubac and Williams each had 11.
The Lakers shot 69 percent in the half and built a commanding 76-55 lead.
Antetokounmpo led the Bucks with 17 points and went 10-for-10 at the free-throw line.
The Bucks trailed, 87-61, in the third quarter before finally showing some signs of life.
Beasley sank a 3-pointer and Antetokounmpo scored in the lane and hit a free throw.
But 3-pointers by Jordan Clarkson and Williams helped the Lakers stay comfortably in front.
The Lakers held a 103-84 lead entering the fourth quarter.
But Milwaukee made a determined run to cut the Lakers' lead to 114-109 on Greg Monroe's basket with 59.5 seconds left. Antetokounmpo blocked a shot by Randle but the Bucks lost the ball out of bounds after a review overturned the call on the court. That led to two free throws by Williams and the Lakers clinched the victory at the foul line in the last 24 seconds.
