Giannis explodes for first career triple-double, Bucks beat Lakers

Hayes and Wilson were brought right outside the Lakers locker room, where Bucks owners Marc Lasry and Wed Edens had collected family and friends for pictures with Bryant.

The Lakers were not able to get a field goal to drop in the first three minutes of the second quarter but, fortunately, were able to get six points from the free throw line and still trailed by nine points.

Antetokounmpo was particularly problematic, working his way through the heart of the Laker defense for 12 first quarter points, while MCW and Giannis both found Plumlee repeatedly for easy buckets around the rim.

Bryant and Julius Randle each had 22 points. Milwaukee led by 25 heading into the final period, and only a late flurry of threes from Nick Young (19 points) made the final score look respectable. The Lakers turned the ball over 14 times and allowed 54 points in the paint, highlighted by an alley-oop dunk off the glass by Antetokounmpo. Over their last 10 games, however, they’re 7-3 against the number despite winning just two of those 10 games.

But Antetokounmpo stood above them all by shooting 12-of-17, while providing some defensive highlights as well with four blocks and three steals.

But for Bryant, it was about being in a historical team, an example of which is the Chicago Bulls – a squad that once had the greatest player to ever play the game, Michael Jordan, in its roster.

The 6-foot-11 Antetokounmpo “has the physical tools, the intelligence”.

“I think that we kept our endurance, especially in the first few minutes of the second overtime, seeing our energy go up to another level”, Parker said.

The crowd cheered when Bryant faked Jabari Parker on the wing and stepped around him to hit a high-arching 3. He swished what would have been his fourth 3-pointer to cut the lead to 10 but was called for stepping out of bounds. “I feel like I’ve still got something to prove, and I don’t want anybody to take it the wrong way, but you feel like your best players are your starters”, Russell told reporters.

Milwaukee, meanwhile, is on a bit of a roll; the Bucks have won four of their last five games to move up to 12th in the East, but remain 4.5 games behind the Bulls for the last playoff spot.

Notes Larry Nance Jr. played only 10 minutes due to a sore knee that cost him 10 of the last 15 games. Asked why he limited their playing time, Scott said, “Humility, that’s all….”

In Week 18, they’re set to visit the Milwaukee Bucks (23-33) and Memphis Grizzlies (32-23) before hosting the Grizzlies on Friday at Staples Center.