LOS ANGELES_It started as what appeared to be a routine foul with 36 seconds left in the third quarter of the Los Angeles Lakers' 107-103 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.
Bucks guard Malcolm Brogdon tried to block a shot by Lakers guard Nick Young as he attempted a layup. Brogdon swiped the side of Young's head in the process and then tensions spiraled.
Young shoved Brogdon, furious. Then Milwaukee's Greg Monroe took his own shot at Young, and a fracas ensued.
By the end of it, Monroe, Young and D'Angelo Russell had all been ejected from the game with double technical fouls _ Young for starting the fight and Monroe and Russell for escalating it.
It left the Lakers with just three guards on their active roster: David Nwaba, Jordan Clarkson and Tyler Ennis.
As these things tend to do, the incident energized the Lakers and their crowd.
After two games in which Coach Luke Walton grew frustrated with the team's effort, the Lakers stayed close until the end against the lately surging Milwaukee Bucks.
The Lakers fell to 20-49 with the loss while the Bucks improved to 34-34. Khris Middleton led all scorers with 29 points.
Milwaukee star Giannis Antetokounmpo had 26 points, eight rebounds and five assists and fouled out of the game with 7.9 seconds left in the game.
The Lakers have had trouble finishing games strong in the past. Against the Houston Rockets on Wednesday, they gave up 46 points in the fourth, after only trailing by eight in the third quarter. They lost that game by 39 points, infuriating Walton.
They fought this time, even though they were shorthanded.
Nwaba, who is on the second of two 10-day contracts, took a pass from Brandon Ingram and dunked with two hands over Matthew Dellavedova to start the fourth quarter.
With 4:54 left in the game, Jordan Clarkson made a three-pointer that brought the Lakers within six in a game they once trailed by 18.
With 46.5 seconds left in the game, Larry Nance Jr. stole the ball from Middleton and gave it to Nwaba, who completed a fastbreak dunk at the other end of the court. That brought the Lakers to within four of the Bucks.
With 7.9 seconds left in the game, Antetokounmpo committed his sixth foul. Julius Randle missed the first free throw and made the second, giving the Lakers one last desperate chance.
They fouled Brogdon with 5.7 seconds left in the game, and he made both free throws, putting the Bucks ahead by five and the game just out of the Lakers' reach.
Young finished the game with 16 points, making six of 11 shots (including four of eight three-pointers). He also had three rebounds and two assists. The Lakers removed Young from the starting lineup three games ago in an effort to see more of their young players. He returned Wednesday night and missed all nine of his shot attempts, showing clear signs of rust.
Russell finished with 14 points (on five-of-nine shooting) with two assists, two turnovers and two rebounds, but his numbers told only part of the story.
After Walton, associate head coach Brian Shaw, General Manager Rob Pelinka and President of Basketball Operations Magic Johnson all told Russell they'd like to see him be more aggressive coming off the bench, he made a point to do so.
