Bucks Dampen Lakers Playoff Hopes

Welcome in to the full recap of the Lakers' matchup vs. the Milwaukee Bucks where the Lakers hung tight against the Bucks for 48 minutes. But in the end, the Bucks proved to be too much for the Lakers as they rally to beat the LakeShow 131-120.

It was fun until the final stretch fourth quarter. This game had a stomach-sickening finish. As the Lakers hit this stretch of the season, there's absolutely no room for error. And they had to get off a good start at the beginning of March. It was going to be tall task to knock off these Bucks. I can't say I'm not proud of this effort from the Lakers. But, this is an example of how good teams find ways to win. Milwaukee earned their status. They are no joke this year. It's either between them and Toronto for the East. Of course they have Boston and Philly creeping, but those two teams are head and shoulders above the rest. While the Lakers are trying to find their stride in the competitive West.

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Brandon Ingram, 31 points, 8 rebounds, 13-21 shooting. B.I. continues his streak of 20+ point games. I've been watching the games and like I said he's finding his place on the team since the All-Star break and all the Anthony Davis trade fiasco. He's on a unbelievable streak. Tonight, he started off hot, going a perfect 8-8 from the field. He's so confident on his midrange and his ability to attack the basket. Of course, his first miss had to be a 3-point attempt, which he still needs to work on. That's the only thing missing from his itinerary. Of course, highlight of the night here: the poster dunk on Brook Lopez. I'm sure last year in those practices, Ingram wanted to dunk on him one day.

LeBron James, 31 points, 7 rebounds, 10 assists, 10-19 shooting. LeBron turned on the playoff intensity once again here. We had a little scare again as he took a shot to the ribs from Ersan Ilyasova. We're like "oh no, not again." But, no problem as he's able to continue on and give the Bucks all kinds of problems when he makes his move to the hole. LeBron did enough with some heroics down the stretch, but it wasn't enough.

Rajon Rondo, 20 points, 8 rebounds, 9 assists, 7-19 shooting. I was on the fence of leaving Rondo off this list. Rondo attempted 12 threes tonight. He was missing all kinds of open shots and I believe on his 7th attempt, he started hitting the three-ball. Terrible start for Rajon, but he was able to make it up with some key plays and key buckets down the stretch.

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Final seconds of the 4th quarter. Eric Bledsoe with a couple of and 1's. There was a stretch where the Lakers were up 116-118 and had a possible possession for another score, but they threw it away. KCP had an ugly inbounds pass to LeBron, which pretty much sealed the game as Brogdon hit a dagger three. Then after, the Lakers had spent all their offense and they couldn't buy a bucket down the stretch. If anything, good teams find ways to finish. The Bucks were challenged the whole game and down the stretch of the game, they found ways to come up big.

Eric Bledsoe, 31 points. When it looked like the Lakers were gonna run away en route to an upset win, in comes Eric Bledsoe to save the day. Giannis put up some numbers, but didn't have that MVP-esque impact Bucks fans were accustomed to see. However, it was Bledsoe  that stepped up. He's proven in his career that he's a lightning fast guard and once he has a step over his defender, he's already to the basket. Even more frustrating is his ability to balance scoring and facilitating. The Lakers couldn't keep a body up front on him nor could they keep up when he's ready to attack. There's no doubt Bledsoe killed the Lakers here. He sparked the late run in the third quarter. And he took the game over late in the fourth quarter with a couple of consecutive and 1's.

MVP

Brandon Ingram, 31 points, 8 rebounds, 13-21 shooting.

LeBron James, 31 points, 7 rebounds, 10 assists, 10-19 shooting.

One of the rare times I give out co-MVPs. I haven't done that since Josh Hart and Gary Payton II at the end of last season. They've been carrying this team during this stretch. LeBron despite some lapses, will put up numbers and keep the Lakers afloat. Ingram has broken out during this stretch. They're the MVPs this game.




Conclusion

I heard after this game, the Bucks are the first team to clinch a playoff spot. Good for them, they deserve it. As I said, this month is going to be the Lakers' hardest stretch if they want to keep playoff hopes alive. They have Milwaukee twice this month. They have to go on a road trip to Toronto. They have some key matchups against the Clippers and the Kings that'll determine playoff implications. Oh, and there's also Denver and Boston to look out for as well. The margin of error is so slim if the Lakers are hoping to snag that last playoff spot. I swear if they lose to Phoenix tomorrow after a draining loss like this, then I feel it's over for this team barring a big-time choke by the Clippers and/or Sacramento. We'll see what this Lakers team is made of. Fight or flight from here on out. I'll see you guys later.

03/01: LAKERS vs. Bucks 2nd Half Open Thread

King James and the Lakers, Greek Freak Giannis and the Bucks, 2nd half open thread of this matchup. As usual, leave a comment below and share your thoughts on the game!

Q4

MIL 131 LAL 120

Ugh, what a bitter finish to the game. Stay tuned for the full recap.

Q3

MIL 93 LAL 94

The only good thing was that the Lakers were able to reclaim the lead. They put the Bucks in early foul trouble to set up the disparity from the free throws. It was quite a fun 3rd quarter early on. Highlight of this quarter? B.I. dunking all over Brook Lopez. I'm sure Lopez was thinking twice about his decision to leave LA for Milwaukee. But he's with a good team now. All was good, but Eric Bledsoe singlehandedly brought the Bucks back with his scoring and playmaking. He's so fast that the Lakers couldn't keep him in their front view mirror. He still has that quick step to burn you to the basket. Anyway, strong finish needed to close this game out.

03/01: LAKERS vs. Milwaukee Bucks 1st Half Open Thread

Welcome to the first half open thread of the Lakers' Friday Night matchup vs. the Milwaukee Bucks. Playoff implications at stake right here against an elite team in the East. Leave a comment below and share your thoughts on the game.

Q2

MIL 59 LAL 65

Now that was a much better finish to an overall strong first half from the Lakers. This is pretty much a playoff game for the Purple and Gold and they've answered the challenge. Milwaukee is getting some buckets for themselves. But, they're offense is not as crisp as Mike Budenholzer expects it to be. We gotta give credit to the Lakers' defense on that. They've disrupted the Bucks' flow a bit. In these last few games, I think we've figured out who LeBron's partner-in-crime is. Brandon Ingram stays hot. 16 points, a perfect 8-8 shooting to go with 6 rebounds. You look at his numbers since the All-Star break, 27 points, 29 points, 32 points, and 23 points in the past few games. It's a small sample size, but I think B.I. is starting to find his role on this team. Whether or not he retains this once Lonzo Ball returns (if he returns) remain to be seen, but we can't deny he has broken out and played better after the break. We've seen him turn it on a few times once the All-Star break is over. But, this is just on another level. So far, the Lakers are dictating the pace here in this game minus a couple of sloppy sequences where the Bucks took advantage and cashed in on some points. Not to mention, the Lakers had a lot of open looks, but players are not hitting their shots and they left a lot of points behind in this half. 2nd half will open up shortly.

Q1

MIL 27 LAL 26

Eh, a bitter finish to what was a strong 1st quarter. Slow start for both teams. It was a little ugly seeing Rajon Rondo miss a whole lot of wide open threes. As I said, the Bucks can live with him hitting those from deep since he's not that good. He hit one, but that's not saying much. Onto more positives, Brandon Ingram continues to be on a tear. He had 10 points this quarter and I believe he's leading the team in scoring early on. I'm really excited that he has come on since the All-Star break. Nonetheless, despite trailing by one, the Lakers shown they can keep up with these Bucks. The defensive activity was evident with LeBron hounding Brook and Muscala with the big block on Antetokounmpo before the buzzer.

See y'all tomorrow night for an open thread! #LakeShow

Lakers Fall to Bucks in OT

*Stats courtesy of NBA.com*

Final Score: vs. Milwaukee 124-122 (OT) [L]
Full article: http://www.nba.com/games/20180330/MILLAL#/recap

Next Game: vs. Sacramento (04/01)

Highlights: *Courtesy of Rapid Highlights*

Another tough loss for the Lakers in OT. They've been really unlucky all season long when it comes to forcing OT and ending up losing the game overall. The first two meetings against the Warriors were an example. Here though, it was a great effort by the shorthanded Lakers to come back and rally from a 20-point deficit that the Bucks built up. Alex Caruso and Ivica Zubac helped spark the run off the bench. Caruso showed really good effort during the 4th quarter on both ends of the floor. Zubac, as soft as he is, ran the floor and went hard to the basket to draw contact. That helped energized the Lakers down the stretch. But that momentum was marred by a couple of missed free throws. Ingram missed three free throws down the stretch; both trips gave the Lakers a chance to take the lead over Milwaukee. In overtime, Eric Bledsoe took the game over for the Bucks, setting the tone with 11 points. The Lakers had a hard time keeping him away from behind the three-point line and he burned them at times in transition with his speed. Middleton and Antetokounmpo went off too, but they were facing foul trouble down the stretch. When Giannis missed one of two free throws, the Lakers had a chance to tie it up again, but Kuzma decided to hoist up a desperation three for the win instead of driving for the tie when there was an open lane in front of him. It's one of those decisions that loses games and Bledsoe was able to seal the win for the Bucks with two clutch free throws. Tough loss all-around. The Bucks need all the wins they can get to ensure a playoff spot in the East and they played as a team with desperation. Final stats: Kyle Kuzma finished with 27 points, leading the team in scoring to go with 12 rebounds and and 6 assists. Brook Lopez racked up 20 points. Julius Randle added a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds. B.I. finished with 12 points and 6 assists, but committed 5 turnovers. Ingram exited the game during OT. It's a big blow after just coming back the night before. That'll definitely mar his solid sophomore campaign. Zubac added 16 points off the bench, again he and Caruso showed some great chemistry to spark the Lakers' run. Josh Hart returned with a double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds. It was good to see him back. He saw extra run this game when KCP got tossed out.