For defeating the Milwaukee Bucks, the Los Angeles Lakers required double overtime. With 3:26 remaining in regulation time, the Lakers, missing LeBron James due to an ankle injury, were behind by 10 points.
With 44 seconds remaining, Milwaukee took the lead until the Lakers tied the game at 101-101. After a back-and-forth game in overtime, Austin Reaves’ three-pointer and D’Angelo Russell‘s two free throws cemented the victory.
Reaves finished with 29 points, 14 rebounds, and 10 assists, while Anthony Davis scored 34 points and grabbed 23 rebounds despite having trouble moving around for the majority of the game due to a knee injury he sustained in an early collision with Milwaukee’s Khris Middleton.
No LeBron James, No Problem?
After Reaves’ last-second three-pointer, Giannis Antetokounmpo had a triple-double for the Bucks with 29 points, 21 rebounds, and 11 assists, but he missed two free throws.
Eight minutes and twenty-five seconds remained in regulation before the Lakers, who had defeated the Bucks by a single point at home earlier this month, started their comeback, keeping them on track for at least a spot in the play-in tournament (16–19 April).
Coach Doc Rivers of Milwaukee noted that his squad suffered the consequences of not closing out the game despite building double-digit leads. Rivers said,
“When you have a team down 18 points, you have a chance to take that lead to 30 and we didn’t do that,”
“Instead we let it go from 18 to 10, and that gave them hope. It will be a good lesson for us.”