Lakers secure biggest win of season behind Anthony Davis masterclass

The Los Angeles Lakers had to show what they are made of starting their road trip against the Milwaukee Bucks and their superstar, Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Bucks got an extra special treat in this game welcoming back all-star forward Khris Middleton for his first taste of game action this season. While the Bucks have been rolling along at 15-5, the Lakers, after a 2-10 disastrous start, have started making some strides of late winning six of eight.

Post-game reports are not the most glamorous of assignments, but some games make it worthwhile. This game here was one of the better regular-season games in the NBA this season. The stars on the marquee — Anthony Davis and Giannis Antetokounmpo — played great in the game while so many other players showed their talent in supporting roles.

The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Milwaukee Bucks 133-129 to start their six-game road trip. The next game is in Washington over the weekend before taking on the Cleveland Cavaliers in front of the NBA world on TNT.

The first quarter of this game was probably the best the Los Angeles Lakers played all season long win, lose or draw. They looked a perennial NBA power in the face and matched them point for point. Let’s go immediately into why this happened.

The good from the Los Angeles Lakers’ win:

Anthony Davis was killing the Milwaukee Bucks in the first quarter!

The headline players in this game were obviously Giannis Antetokounmpo and Anthony Davis. The reputations came into play here. The Greek Freak is known as the most dominant player in the NBA. AD, on the other hand, is known for being skilled and let’s just say… soft.

AD was the freak in the first quarter. He was destroying the Bucks at the rim with some serious aggression!

What’s exciting here if you are a Lakers fan is that LeBron James IS FORCE FEEDING Davis making sure he gets in a rhythm and not looking for his offense. AD had 13 points at the end of the first quarter and 23 at the half. Oh, don’t worry about LeBron. He still found time to get to double figures by halftime scoring all of his points (10) in the second quarter.

This is the Russell Westbrook that Darvin Ham envisioned when he sent Russ to the bench.

Russ looked like a complete basketball player the second he entered the game. The offensive pace was perfect with him pushing the ball and finding his teammates for open shots. He had 5 assists in the first two minutes of action.

We’re nitpicking here, but Russ has to control his emotions a little bit. These two things happened in the first half alone.

• He drew a lane violation loudly counting out the time Giannis took to shoot a free throw costing the Lakers a point.
• He got into it with a Bucks fan in the expensive seats.

The recipe for success for the Lakers is when Russ gets to 8 assists. He had that total at halftime. No one wants Russ to sabotage some outstanding playmaking success that this team needs by getting himself kicked out of games. He played so well in this one though.

Russ finished with 15 points and 11 assists. His dive on the floor late probably sealed the game for the Lake Show despite those missed free throws. Here’s the best part… NO TURNOVERS!

Lonnie Walker IV is making himself rich!

After sitting out a game for a sore foot, Lonnie did not have the greatest of games coming back to the lineup in his return. His slump went two more quarters in this one before he exploded in the third quarter! He had 14 points in the period which kept Milwaukee from taking the lead in the Lakers’ most troublesome 12 minutes.

LeBron James passed Magic Johnson for 6th all-time on the assist ladder!

Sure, he’s going to pass Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on the all-time scoring list, but for LeBron to start his climb up the assist list is an underrated achievement that won’t get its due until this man retires. He really supported AD well in the realm of the offense.

He finished with 28 points, 8 rebounds and 11 assists. Remember the Lakers won the championship when James led the NBA in assists.

Anthony Davis… again!

44 points…10 rebounds…4 assists and 3 blocks. This dude is on a serious tear right now!

The bad from the Los Angeles Lakers’ win:

As well as the Los Angeles Lakers played… they were still only up by 8 points at halftime!

If there is an underlying issue with this Lakers team, they can get seduced into an up-and-down affair with teams and the defense suffers. It happened with San Antonio and the bad habits cost them big time against Indiana. The scenario reared its ugly head in the first half.

• Anthony Davis did not have a rebound in the first half! Let that sink in!
• Giannis only had 11 points in the first half. For a guy that averages 31 points a game, that’s not good.
• The Lake Show shot 56 percent and limited their turnovers.
• Patrick Beverley scored 5 quick points. Get the picture?  

The Bucks never seemed pressed when the Lakers raced out to a big lead in the second quarter. They just stayed with their principles knowing that things would be okay and they would catch up. If not for this Anthony Davis haymaker…

https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1598855877171126272

The Bucks would have had the momentum going into halftime. But well there’s always the third quarter when the Lakers get into trouble.

Well, Giannis woke up!

The Greek Freak just tore the Lakers up in the second half. He finished with 40 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists. Man…this dude…

The story from the Los Angeles Lakers’ win:

If the Los Angeles Lakers play the way Darvin Ham wants, they will get into the Play-In tournament… GUARANTEED!

Granted, Ham was awful against the Indiana Pacers earlier this week, but unlike Frank Vogel, he took the blame. That’s going to be the difference between last year and this year. This website all but screamed that Frank Vogel had no plan, no purpose, or no scheme last year. He was a terrible coach and you can hand that championship credit to Jason Kidd, Lionel Hollins, and Phil Handy along with the veterans on that roster.

Vogel was along for the ride.

Darvin Ham had this Lakers team playing on a string and disciplined all night long on both ends. The Bucks were exposed with the tight pick-and-roll action with LeBron and AD plus you can see that every player on this roster is willing to lay it on the line for him. Believe Russ wasn’t going to do this for no Frank Vogel…

It’s time for the Lakers to boot Damian Jones for this South Bay standout

The Los Angeles Lakers need to maximize the talent on the roster this season and they are not doing that by keeping Damian Jones around.

The Lakers are going to be all right Lakers Nation. They’re going to be all right!