The Lakers are looking to sweep the Bucks for the first time since the 2009-10 season in the second game of their two-game regular season series. Meanwhile the Bucks will be looking for revenge after the Lakers defeated them 133-129 in Milwaukee on December 2.
Reports: LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Anthony Davis for Thursday’s game
The Los Angeles Lakers could concentrate on making the playoffs again once LeBron James completed his quest to become the NBA’s all-time leading scorer.
James broke Kareem Abdul-record Jabbar’s against the Thunder on Wednesday, and on Thursday he’ll welcome the surging Milwaukee Bucks.
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The Lakers played before a star-studded crowd on Tuesday, but still lost a close game to the Thunder (133-130). The Lakers didn’t look like they cared much about defense as long as James got to 30 points.
Darvin Ham said: “It sucks that we didn’t get the win on a night like this but there are a lot of things to pull from it, i’m happy that Bron was able to accomplish what he accomplished and now we can just move on and submerge ourselves into how we try to get better and win enough games to be situated into the postseason.”
James put up 38 points, when he only needed 36 to set a new mark. However, fellow star Anthony Davis was held to 13 points on 9 shots in 31 minutes of action.
James’ right foot, which began hurting near the end of Tuesday’s game, is the current source of discomfort. While the Lakers’ all-star has played in each of the team’s last four games, he is questionable to play tonight due to a lingering ankle injury.
Even if the superstar forward is sidelined on Wednesday, it is unclear how much time newcomers like D’Angelo Russell, Jarred Vanderbilt (back), and Malik Beasley will see. On the off chance that James is unable to suit up against the Bucks on Thursday, he will get another shot to do so on Saturday when the Warriors come to town.
The Lakers are currently 13th in the Western Conference after going 3-4 since Anthony Davis returned from a foot injury.
Davis has spent the majority of the season as a question mark on the team’s injury report, but he should be ready to play on Thursday.
Lakers injuries
- Anthony Davis (Foot) – Questionable
- LeBron James (Ankle) – Questionable
- Juan Toscano-Anderson – Questionable
- Russell Westbrook – Questionable
- Damian Jones – Questionable
- Scotty Pippen Jr. (Concussion) – Questionable
Milwaukee has been on a roll recently, winning eight in a row and ten of their last eleven contests.
As they head into Tuesday’s games in second place in the Eastern Conference, only one game behind the NBA-best Boston Celtics, the Bucks appear content with their current standing, in contrast to the Lakers.
The recent success of the team can be attributed in large part to the return of Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton, and Jrue Holiday to the court together.
Even with a bothersome knee injury, Antetokounmpo is a strong possibility to play Thursday.
The superstar forward has averaged 39.4 points, 15.6 rebounds, and 5.8 assists in his last five games.
Bucks injuries
- Brook Lopez (Illness) – Questionable
- Giannis Antetokounmpo (Knee) – Questionable
- Joe Ingles (Rest) – Out
- Bobby Portis (Knee) – Out
- Serge Ibaka (Personal) – Out
