The Milwaukee Bucks earned a big win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday, easily taking the game in front of their home fans. Milwaukee needed the win to keep pace in the Eastern Conference standings and came away on top.
But even though the Lakers were shorthanded, star guard Luka Doncic did what he could to win. Doncic finished the game by scoring 45 points, grabbing 11 rebounds, dishing out three assists, getting two steals, and blocking one shot.
After the game, Bucks star guard Damian Lillard credited Doncic for his ability to manipulate games even without LeBron James on the floor.
"He's an elite player. He makes threes off the bounce; he's drawing fouls. I think that's what makes it even more difficult... You want to be physical you don't want to let him go where he want to go... Each bump and each reach, he's manipulating the game and kind of putting pressure on the referees to make those calls. He's taking that physicality away from the defense, drawing fouls, he's shooting threes... You gotta give him a lot of attention. I think without Bron out there that was to be expected. It was gonna be pretty much how he played in Dallas, and that was how he came out."
Doncic did what he could to help Los Angeles get the win but the power of the Bucks was too much. Milwaukee had a great team effort to overwhelm the Lakers on the floor.
Lillard finished the game with 22 points, six rebounds, ten assists and two steals. It was a solid contribution for the star guard and he helped his team get the massive victory.
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The Bucks now will gear up for an important game against the Indiana Pacers on Saturday. Indiana sits right behind them in the Eastern Conference standings and they just lost to the Pacers earlier this week.
If Milwaukee wants to get some cushion in the standings, getting a win over the Pacers could go a long way. The Bucks have all the tools to be successful but will need to be more consistency as the regular season dwindles down.
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