MILWAUKEE _ For a few moments the Lakers had hope. LeBron James swished a 3-pointer as the shot clock expired and the Lakers seemed to have stopped a Bucks push to increase their lead Thursday night. Like each similar moment, it passed. Before long, Anthony Davis missed a wide open 3, then reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo made one.
And then he winked.
In a showdown between the best team in the Eastern Conference and the best team in the Western Conference, the Lakers didn't have enough. They lost to the Milwaukee Bucks, 111-104, making this the first time all season that they have lost back-to-back games.
The loss dropped them to 24-5, and they finished this road trip 3-2. Davis, who missed the Lakers' previous game because of a sprained right ankle, scored 36 points with 10 rebounds and five assists. LeBron James had 21points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists for his seventh triple-double this season. He played most of the fourth quarter with five fouls.
Antetokounmpo finished with 34 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists.
The Lakers looked lethargic and disorganized as the game started. They struggled to run plays, got in each other's way and committed careless turnovers. James and Davis went 1-for-11 shooting combined, with Davis making the only shot between the two, in the first quarter. It all added up to them tying their lowest scoring first quarter as they trailed, 23-17.
Things did not improve in the second quarter. Milwaukee outscored the Lakers 20-7 before coach Frank Vogel took a timeout to reassess their situation. There were moments where the Lakers seemed to come back to life, but they didn't last. Vogel was hit with a technical for arguing a call that may have been his attempt to liven up the Lakers.
At halftime, they trailed 65-46, having been down by as many as 21 points.
Things turned for the Lakers in the third quarter. Davis finally got going. He scored only eight points in the first half, but had 15 in the third. The Lakers took advantage of a stretch during which Antetokounmpo sat.
James also passed Gary Payton for ninth place on the NBA's all-time assists list during the third quarter.
The Lakers trailed by eight heading in to the fourth quarter and made a late push.
James saw Davis running just a step ahead of Antetokounmpo. Davis was able to haul in a pass and dunked on the Bucks star to cut the Lakers' deficit to seven with 2:03 left in the game. That was as close as the Lakers would get in the second half.
Milwaukee clinched the win when James drove to the basket and turned the ball over with less than a minute remaining.
