When LeBron missed the March 8th game in Los Angeles against the Bucks, the Lakers got a great shooting night from their guards and an efficient offensive showing overall to get a great win. In Milwaukee on Tuesday night, again without LeBron, they were not able come close to replicating that level of offensive performance, but instead showed great resolve and made just enough plays to execute a massive 4th quarter comeback and beat the Bucks 128-124 in double overtime.
The Lakers trailed for almost the entirety of this game, falling behind by double digits early in the 1st quarter and trying desperately to find their way back into the contest in whatever way they could for the rest of the evening. Their offense put them in that early hole as they missed their first five shots from the field and 10 of their first 11, many on looks the team would happily take every time down the floor but were just unable to knock down in this one.
With their offense flailing, the Lakers scrapped defensively and kept the game within striking distance for as long as they could, hitting just enough shots whenever the game looked on the verge of getting out of hand to once again keep the margin within a good run of putting the Bucks back on their heels. The Bucks did well to flirt with forcing Coach Ham's hand to waive the white flag and start to rest his players on the first night of a back-to-back, but the team continued to battle and give him reason to believe.
Nowhere was this more tested than the 4th quarter, however. After taking a 14-point lead into the period, the Bucks outscored the Lakers 6-1 in the first three and a half minutes to go up by 19 with 8:25 left in regulation. Over the next 7:41 of game action, however, the Lakers outscored the Bucks 26-7 to tie the game with just 44 seconds left in regulation. With neither team managing a point the rest of the quarter, the game went to overtime.
In the 1st OT, it was truly a back-and-forth affair with both teams looking like they had the edge only to have the opponent make a critical play to put the game back in the balance. The teams traded threes, shooting fouls, and missed shots alike to play to another draw over that five-minute extra frame.
In the 2nd OT, both teams looked totally gassed and neither were able to manage a single point for the first three minutes. After that, both teams traded layups, but then the Lakers seized control of the game with an Austin Reaves three-pointer that put them up by three and, ultimately proved the difference in the game.
Of course, none of the above even happens without some great individual performances to carry the team forward in the moments that this game truly did look lost.
Anthony Davis did not shoot the ball well in this one, but he gutted through a bum wheel for much of the 4th quarter and both OT's to score 34 points while grabbing 23 rebounds (7 offensive), blocking four shots, and swiping two steals. Without his normal explosiveness later in the game, Davis relied on his jumper and getting to the line to score his points, defying the early portions of the game when he simply could not get a shot outside the paint to fall at all. AD finished the night connecting on three of his eight attempts from behind the arc and hit all seven of his foul shots.
But where he made his biggest impact was defensively and on the glass. Despite playing a career high 52 minutes, AD found the energy to block two Damian Lillard shot attempts late -- one jumper and one layup -- the latter of which came at the end of the first OT that would have won the Bucks the game.
Austin Reaves was also tremendous, doing more than hitting the aforementioned difference making three pointer that swung the game in the Lakers direction for the final time. Reaves finished the game with a triple-double, scoring 29 points, grabbing 14 rebounds, and dishing 10 assists to just a single turnover. Reaves did much of his damage in the 2nd half and the two overtimes, scoring 15 points in the final two periods of regulation and then nine points across the two OT's to help reset the tone of the Lakers offense and get them back on track.
Similarly, D'Angelo Russell overcame a really rough first half offensively (four points, one for seven shooting) to end the game with 29 points and 12 assists. Russell was dynamic in the 2nd half, with 21 points on six of 13 shooting, including five made three-pointers. Russell's fearlessness as a shooter after a rough half was exemplary and indicative a team that simply would not give in even when it seemed like things would never break their way.
Rui Hachimura also had a wonderful showing, scoring 16 points while grabbing 14 rebounds. After sitting out down the stretch of regulation, Rui played both overtimes, scoring a couple of critical baskets and doing good work on the backboards. His fresh legs and general spirit he played with were extremely helpful to a group that was running on fumes by the time the final buzzer sounded.
And, ultimately, that is what this game was most about. The Lakers gave their all, winning a game that has the chance to both drain them physically as they begin this long road trip, but also spring them forward emotionally as they push to climb out of the 9th seed in the standings. They'll now try meet another challenge on Wednesday night when they play the Grizzlies in Memphis on the 2nd night of a back-to-back.