Luka Dončić, Austin Reaves not enough as Lakers blown out by Bucks

Despite a season-best night from Luka Dončić, the shorthanded Lakers were routed by the Bucks for a third-straight loss.

The Lakers, still down a trio of starters, had little to offer the Bucks on Thursday. Despite a huge first half from Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves’ best game since returning from injury, the Lakers were blown out in Milwaukee, 126-106.

With LeBron James, Rui Hachimura and Jaxson Hayes all out for the remainder of the road trip, the deck was stacked against the Lakers. Even despite the starting backcourt combining for 73 points, the rest of the Lakers struggled mightily.

Luka Dončić had an incredible first half, scoring 29 of his 45 points, which was his season high of any half of basketball. He also grabbed 11 rebounds, dished two dimes and stole the ball twice. Austin Reaves ended with 28 points, seven rebounds and three assists.

Dalton Knecht pitched in with 10 points off the bench. No other Laker had more than six points.

It was an offensive showdown early. A welcomed sight was Alex Len starting the scoring with a floater. Milwaukee jumped ahead by six after going on a small run. Gabe Vincent had a rough go from behind the arc but converted on a layup. LA was shooting a disastrous 14% from behind the arc.

Christian Koloko saw some early playing time and received a lob from Luka for the dunk. Another former Laker, Brook Lopez, was a perfect 4-4 from the field. Los Angeles struggled to defend him.

But Luka had his own hot start as well.

Despite Milwaukee having the lead most of the time, LA managed to stick around and make it close throughout the quarter. Dalton knocked down a deep 3-pointer. Following that, he converted a layup, providing productive offensive minutes.

At the end of the first, the purple and gold were down four.

The Lakers had made it a two-point game early into the second quarter, but the Bucks continued their great offensive scoring nine straight points. Aside from Luka, Dalton and Austin, no other Laker was doing much of anything as Milwaukee’s lead ballooned to 11.

Los Angeles’ defense was atrocious, allowing the Bucks to have their way offensively. Luckily for the Lakers, they had Luka, who went on a 10-0 scoring run to make it a two-point game.

Unfortunately, LA’s defense was non-existent and they let Kevin Porter Jr. shoot the Bucks back into a double-digit lead.

LA picked up their defense as the quarter was winding down with Luka, Austin and Vando combining for a small burst of showtime that the team needed to build some momentum. The offense got better, but again, defensively, they couldn’t stop leaving a shooter wide open. Gary Trent Jr. made them pay for the third time in this half from behind the arc.

At halftime, the Lakers were down by eight.

The second half did not start the way the Lakers would’ve hoped with a 10-2 scoring run giving the Bucks a 14-point lead. Dorian Finney-Smith knocked down a 3-pointer, but also picked up his fourth foul and was forced to sit.

LA still couldn’t figure out how to guard Lopez, who drained his third 3-pointer of the night. Giannis Antetokounmpo had only scored four points in the first half, but was now up to 17 points as he was heating up more.

Things went from bad to even worse as the game started getting away from Los Angeles. Milwaukee continued to pile on the points while Luka and Austin were the only Lakers who looked good.

The fourth quarter happened.

Key Takeaways:

With three of their main guys out, the Lakers have been struggling defensively, leaving shooters wide open all over the court. If they want to stay afloat, they’ll need to defend harder.

Luka in the playoffs, alongside LeBron, will be amazing hoops to witness.

The Lakers’ next matchup is against the Denver Nuggets on Friday at 6:30 PM PT.

You can follow Karin on Twitter at @KarinAbcarians.