3 Studs, 3 duds from Milwaukee Bucks' double overtime defeat to Los Angeles Lakers

The Milwaukee Bucks lost 128-124 in double overtime to the Los Angeles Lakers after allowing their opponents to mount a huge second-half comeback.

The late clutch offense for the Bucks was a big problem and ultimately what led to them losing. Having been up 32-16 after the first quarter and then 58-42 at the half, a horrid fourth quarter allowed the Lakers to rally and win the game by four in the second period of overtime.

Milwaukee had a 10-point lead with less than three and a half minutes to play, then just stopped the ball movement that was so effective in the first three quarters of the game.

The Lakers were without LeBron James but managed to make it a fourth consecutive win on the back of Anthony Davis' 34 point, 23 rebound game. Austin Reaves had a triple double with 29 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists, with D'Angelo Russell also scoring 29 points.

The Milwaukee Bucks late defeat to the Los Angeles Lakers stings

Milwaukee struggled from deep in this game, hitting just 15 of their 51 attempts from three (29.4 percent), and the Lakers weren't much better at 31.8 percent. The big disparity was in the free throw attempts. LA hit 30 of their 32 attempts from the free throw line, whereas the Bucks hit just 11 of 17, with Giannis Antetkounmpo hitting just one of his six and missed a couple of crucial ones late.

The Bucks were without Patrick Beverley, who has been a huge addition since the trade deadline, and it sounds as though his injury could be quite serious. Giannis, Damian Lillard and Malik Beasley all played over 40 minutes, with Khris Middleton, Brook Lopez and Bobby Portis all playing at least 30 minutes each.

For three quarters, it looked like the Bucks were making a statement victory but ended up with a devastating late collapse and defeat.

With the round-up out of the way, let's take a look at some studs and duds from the Bucks' double-overtime defeat to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Stud - Giannis Antetokounmpo

Giannis had another very strong MVP caliber and led by example. He finished with 29 points, 21 rebounds, 11 assists, three blocks and two steals while shooting 56 percent from the field.

The first half saw him assert his dominance in the game as he had a double-double after the first two quarters with 17 points and 11 rebounds. His standout highlight came within minutes of the tip-off. He drove to the basket, bullied Davis out of the way and almost knocked him over before dunking to give the Bucks a four-point lead in less than four minutes of basketball.

As mentioned, Giannis did not have a good game from the line, and we know that he is a 66 percent shooter from the line on the season. It was by far his worst free throw shooting game for the season with him only hitting less than 50 percent from the line on eight occasions this season. It isn't something to be too worried about; he just has to hit the clutch ones come playoff time.

It was still a strong Giannis performance, and he will know more than anyone that he has to hit those free throws better, but it's not of massive concern. The Bucks take on the Pelicans and Hawks in the coming days, so I would expect him to put on another dominant performance and continue into the postseason.

Stud - Bobby Portis

I feel like I am putting Bobby Portis in the studs section every game, but he has been that good off the bench. Against the Lakers, in 30 minutes, he finished with 18 points and 13 rebounds off the bench as he shot 46.7 percent from the field and 66.7 percent from beyond the arc.

It was an electric bench performance from the Mayor of Milwaukee yet again, and he had 12 points and five rebounds at the half; he was a big reason for the huge lead at the half. He has been brilliant since the All-Star break and continues to show the value he brings to the Bucks. Hopefully he can translate these regular season performances into the playoffs, where he has had struggles before.

Since the All-Star break, he is averaging 16.4 points and 8.6 rebounds per game on 52 percent shooting and 42 percent from deep. Scoring-wise, that is better than any season average he has had, and we know the effort he brings when it comes to crashing the glass on both ends, as he claimed three offensive boards Tuesday night.

With Beverley now missing time, it is on him and some of the other veterans to continue to bring the energy and grit that Pat Bev has brought since arriving in Wisconsin. If he can keep these performances going for the final 10 games of the season and into the postseason, then the Bucks have a great chance of making a deep run.

Stud - Malik Beasley

This was Malik Beasley's joint-fourth-highest scoring performance of the season and his highest since the beginning of February. Beasley finished with 21 points on 44 percent shooting and 35.7 percent from deep, leading the Bucks by hitting five 3-pointers.

With no Beverley off the bench to come in down the stretch for the defensive possessions, it likely resulted in Beasley playing 40 minutes, as we may have seen Beverley partner Lillard in the backcourt to help slow down Reaves and Russell.

On the season, he is averaging 11.6 points on 45 percent shooting and is a career 38 percent shooter from deep. It was a good shooting game for Beasley. Maybe the increased volume and minutes saw him hit a higher point total, but when the team was poor throughout from deep, his shots were integral to opening up the scoreline.

Beasley has made the two-spot his own, and now, with Beverley out, he could see more minutes and be expected to keep up with the tough defensive assignments. Doc Rivers may look to change the defense slightly to accommodate not having Beverley, but if Beasley keeps up his strong shooting season, then he is nothing but value to the Bucks' offense.

Dud - Khris Middleton

It was the first game since Khris Middleton returned where he has really struggled. Had his shooting been a bit better over his 38 minutes, the Bucks would have coasted to the victory. He finished with 12 points, six rebounds, seven assists and five fouls.

The problem for Middleton was he hit four of his 15 shots (26.7 percent) and was just two for seven from deep (28.6 percent). As I say, if he hit just one more three or a few of those mid-range shots, then the Bucks would never have allowed the comeback. It wasn't all on him. He spent a while out, and every player has a bad shooting night. It was a great rally by the Lakers, and the Bucks, you could say, threw the game away.

His health is the X-factor for the Bucks, and making sure he is at 100 percent for the postseason is key to the team's chances of winning another title. If anything it is good for him to get these sorts of shooting nights out of the way now and be at his best for the playoffs, which his previous three games he has played extremely well.

On the season, he is shooting 48.6 percent and 37.7 percent from long range, so it was a below-par performance by his standards, but I don't think it is something to worry about. Come the playoffs, we know what Middleton can bring.

Dud - Brook Lopez

It was a tough night for Brook Lopez with the Anthony Davis assignment, and he struggled to assert himself on either end of the floor. He finished with nine points and six rebounds and hit just one of his four shots from deep.

On the season, he is averaging 12 points and five rebounds on 48 percent shooting and 36 percent from deep, so it is a tough matchup to score him on, but Davis was allowed to lead the Lakers. Allowing Davis to grab seven offensive boards while Rui Hachimura got four was a problem that led to second-chance points, and Lopez struggled to use his size in that regard.

He has had a solid season, and this was a tough matchup with Davis; only Joel Embiid and Bam Adebayo in the East could be put in that category for the level of center, so it can't get much harder than Tuesday night. When it comes to the playoffs, he will need to step up again defensively and hit the 3-pointers consistently. His usage has, of course, gone down with the addition of Lillard, and with the way Portis is playing in some playoff games, we may see Portis on the court more than Lopez, depending on matchups.

Lopez will have easier games down the stretch where he can have a bigger impact, and his ability to stretch the floor will be big for the Bucks in the playoffs.

Dud - AJ Green

Rivers ran a nine-man rotation, and AJ Green got 12 minutes on the floor with Beverley sidelined. He didn't manage to score and missed both his 3-pointers, finishing with just two rebounds and a steal.

With him being trusted by Rivers and now Beverley hurt, Green will see an increase in minutes and will need to have a bigger impact in order to tie down a position in the rotation for the postseason. His strength, of course, is his shooting, and if he isn't making shots, then we may see MarJon Beauchamp or Andre Jackson Jr. find their way back into the rotation.

Green is averaging 4.6 points per game and is a 41 percent shooter from deep in the 10 minutes he averages each game. He has started to have more of an impact on the bench, but with the playoffs looming and rotations shortening, he needs to show in these final 10 games that he can be trusted when the lights are the brightest as someone with his shooting capabilities can come in clutch late in games.

It was a devastating loss for the Bucks, with them being at home and having such a comfortable lead throughout. One thing for certain is they will make sure this doesn't happen again between now and the end of the season as they look to win another ring.

Stay tuned for more Milwaukee Bucks analysis as we enter the final 10 games of the regular season.