Bucks win 9th straight, hold off LeBron-less Lakers 115-106

LOS ANGELES(AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo had 38 points and 10 rebounds, and theMilwaukee Bucks rallied in the second half for their ninthconsecutive victory, 115-106 over the Los Angeles Lakers withoutLeBron James on Thursday night.

James sat outto rest his sore left ankle and foottwo nights after hepassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to become the NBA’s career scoringleader. The Bucks still fell behind by 11 in a tepid first half andnever pulled away from an opponent with only nine players inuniform, but Antetokounmpo racked up 23 points in the secondhalf.

KhrisMiddleton scored 22 points and Jrue Holiday added 18 for the Bucks,who matched their longest winning streak since their 9-0 start tothis season. Milwaukee is primed for the stretch run to thepostseason after adding veteran Jae Crowder to its talented core atthe trade deadline.

“Our offensehas been better for this stretch,” coach Mike Budenholzer said.“Tonight we did not shoot it well, but I think generally speaking,we’ve been shooting the ball better. I think it’s been ourunselfishness, the way the ball has moved, the pop that we’replaying with. Getting Khris healthy makes a big difference, so it’sa little bit of everything. It’s hard to keep a stretch like thisgoing, but we want to keep pushing.”

DennisSchröder had 25 points and 12 assists in a standout performance atpoint guard for the Lakers, who had only four reserves after theirflurry of trades in the past two days.

Los Angelesshipped out Russell Westbrook, Patrick Beverley, Thomas Bryant,Juan Toscano-Anderson and Damian Jones while adding D’AngeloRussell, Malik Beasley, Jarred Vanderbilt, Mo Bamba and DavonReed.

Russell,Vanderbilt and Beasley sat on the Lakers’ bench to watch this gamewith their new teammates.

“We’ve justgot to put everything together,” said Anthony Davis, who had 23points and 16 rebounds while battling foul trouble. “Obviously weknow what we have on paper. We’ve got to put it to the floor. We’rebehind the 8-ball, so we’ve got to do it with some urgency. Theseguys coming in are ready to get going.”

The Lakersare 25-31 after their third straight loss, and they’re in desperateneed of a winning surge if they hope to avoid missing the playoffsfor the second straight season.

James missedhis 12th game of the season with an injury that has requiredconstant maintenance.The Lakers honored his achievement witha pregame ceremonyin which he thanked his fans and his familywhile describing the week as “surreal.”

Despite usingtheir 28th starting lineup in 56 games this season, theshort-handed Lakers improbably took a 58-50 halftime lead whileMilwaukee missed 23 of its 28 3-point attempts.

THEREAL STORY

Davis ended asurge of internet speculation about why he was curiously sitting onthe Lakers’ bench instead of watching the moment James broke thescoring record Tuesday: He didn’t realize LeBron was about to makehistory.

“We werelosing to the Oklahoma City Thunder in a game that we needed, and Iwas (ticked) off that we were losing,” Davis said. “It’s verysimple. It’s nothing had to do with Bron. He knows that.”

TIP-INS

Bucks:Crowder is unlikely to join the team before it returns home toMilwaukee, Budenholzer said. The Bucks gave up George Hill, SergeIbaka, Jordan Nwora and three future second-round picks to get thedefense-minded, playoff-tested Crowder, who played at Marquette. “Ijust feel like Jae is a winner,” Budenholzer said. “His toughness,his defense, what he brings on that end of the court isspecial.”

Lakers: CoachDarvin Ham said James had “imaging” done on his foot, but it didn’tshow “anything extensive, just normal wear and tear.” ... Ham ishoping all five newcomers are available for their next gameSaturday. “All those guys bring unique skill sets that we need,”Ham said.