The Los Angeles Lakers have a quick turnaround from their breezy win over the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday, having to face Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday evening. Luka Doncic was brilliant in the Lakers' win over shorthanded Denver, but unfortunately, Los Angeles will be without him on Thursday vs Milwaukee.
“Lakers star Luka Doncic will not play tonight against the Milwaukee Bucks as he continues to manage a sprained right ankle, sources told ESPN,” reported NBA insider Dave McMenamin of ESPN on X, formerly Twitter.
The Lakers are currently in the middle of a wild six games in eight days stretch that is largely the result of rescheduled games due to the recent Los Angeles wildfires. Los Angeles has managed to go 3-2 in the brutal stretch so far–which has taken place without the injured LeBron James–thanks in no small part to the contributions of both Doncic and Austin Reaves.
Related Los Angeles Lakers NewsArticle continues below
Doncic was brilliant on Wednesday evening, scoring 20 points in the first seven minutes of the game and helping the Lakers produce an electric offensive first half and cruising to the finish line. Doncic appears to have fully returned to form after a bit of a shaky start to his tenure in Los Angeles, and once James gets back in the lineup, things could start to get really scary for some of the Lakers' competition out West.
Thankfully for the Lakers, their schedule eases up a bit after the Bucks game, with multiple contests against the lowly Chicago Bulls on the horizon. However, the team will surely want to get both Doncic and James back sooner rather than later as they attempt to hold down the fort.
In any case, the Lakers and Bucks are slated to tip off at 10:30 PM ET on Thursday from Los Angeles.
a]:text-link [&_>a]:underline">Jackson Stone is a sports journalist for ClutchPoints with expertise in covering the NBA, NFL, and CAA Football. The Mercer University senior from Atlanta is on track to graduate with a BA in communications, and he has bylines at FanSided and USA Today Sports' Georgia athletics website.