Despite blowing a large fourth quarter lead, the Milwaukee Bucks defeated the Los Angeles Lakers in overtime on Friday night in their second game of a back-to-back.
Although it took overtime to achieve, the Milwaukee Bucks picked up their second win in as many nights, beating the Los Angeles Lakers 124-122 in overtime on Friday night in the Staples Center.
The road team got out to a fast start, as the Bucks made a quick 7-3 to start the game. The Lakers answered with a run of their own, outscoring Milwaukee 12-5 over the next four minutes to take a 15-12 lead.
From there, the quarter was mostly back and forth, with the Bucks hitting a few late shots to take a 39-34 lead into the second quarter.
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The second quarter was more of the same, as the game fell into a pattern of Milwaukee extending their lead, only to see Los Angeles fight back to get within a few baskets.
With under three minutes left in the period, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope picked up two quick technical fouls that ended his night early.
After the ejection, the Bucks extended their lead to 14 by a score of 66-52. The Lakers responded by getting a few back in the closing minutes, trailing Milwaukee 68-57 heading into the half.
Milwaukee again pounced quickly in the third quarter, taking a 75-59 lead within the first few minutes. This continued as the Bucks held a comfortable lead for a majority of the period, at one point holding a 95-75 lead with just over two minutes left. However, the Lakers finished the quarter on a quick 8-2 run, trailing the Bucks by 14 heading into the fourth.
It was the start of the fourth quarter when things began to unravel for the Bucks, as they watched their lead dwindle to two points in just over four minutes. The two teams went back and forth from there, with the Lakers taking their first lead since the first quarter at 107-106 with just under five minutes to go.
There was not much scoring for the rest of the period, as the teams were tied 112-112 with a minute and a half to go until the end of regulation. At the end of the quarter, both Eric Bledsoe and Khris Middleton had chances to win it, but both of their attempts came up empty and the game went to overtime.
The extra period began with Eric Bledsoe going on a 9-0 run of his own, giving the Bucks a 121-112 lead with two-and-a-half minutes left.
Although Los Angeles again fought their way back into the game, they saw their chance at winning end when rookie Kyle Kuzma missed a three-point attempt over Giannis Antetokounmpo in the final seconds.
After some free throws and a Laker basket as time expired, the Bucks sealed the hard-fought victory with a score of 124-122.
Now, let’s contemplate a few of the takeaways from the Bucks’ win over the Lakers on Friday night.