After opening the preseason in Detroit against the Pistons, the Milwaukee Bucks entered Fiserv Forum for the first time for the 2024–25 season against the Los Angeles Lakers. Despite an impressive performance by Bobby Portis who scored 23 first-half points, the Lakers took their first win of the preseason by a final score of 107-102, thanks to a 20-0 fourth-quarter run. Giannis added 20 points, seven rebounds and two assists in his first action of the preseason. LeBron James and Anthony Davis each had eleven points for the Lakers, while Rui Hachimura led the Lake Show with fourteen.
NBA.com Box Score
Game Recap
In the early going, the fans got exactly what they wanted as Giannis got the party started with a bang, throwing down a two-handed jam off a pass from new Buck Gary Trent Jr. and then a hook shot to make it 4-0, forcing an early timeout from Lakers head coach JJ Redick. The Lakers responded quickly, rattling off nine straight points thanks to the young duo of Rui Hachimura and Max Christie to make it 9-4 Lakers. Bobby Portis was the first bench player for Milwaukee to see the floor and he made an instant impact. In the final 6:32 of the first quarter that Portis was on the floor, he scored twelve of the final fourteen points to end the frame, helping the Bucks trim the Lakers’ lead down to three, 26-23 heading into the second quarter.
Portis extended his hot streak into the second frame, as he would go on to score eighteen of the Bucks’ 20 points, including a couple of three-pointers and a dunk off a feed from Giannis to give the Bucks a three-point lead with 10:55 left in the stanza. The two sides battled back and forth through most of the second quarter, neither side gaining much of an edge until the Bucks got going with some highlight reel plays. After Dame appeared to hurt his ankle in the first, he returned to start the second quarter, later nailing a three to tie the game. Milwaukee went on an 11-5 run to take a 55-49 lead, with Giannis throwing in a Statue of Liberty dunk for style points. Giannis threw down one more slam and Dame hit a technical free throw after LeBron kept complaining to the refs to give the Bucks a 58-52 lead heading into the locker room.
Doc Rivers pulled the plug on the starters to begin the second half, throwing out AJ Johnson, AJ Green, Pat Connaughton, Tyler Smith, and Anzejs Pasecniks against most of the Lakers starters minus LeBron and Max Christie. In their stead, Johnson showed some flashes of his raw potential, driving in for a layup and nailing two shots from beyond the arc inside 3 1⁄2 minutes to give the Bucks a 68-65 lead with 6:55 to go. The Bucks continued to expand that lead, getting it up to eight points heading into the fourth, 82-74, after a layup from Liam Robbins.
Both coaches threw out more of their young players, such as Andre Jackson Jr, Stanley Umude, and Ryan Rollins got their first action of the night for the Bucks. Milwaukee expanded their lead to their biggest of the night at fifteen points, with a Rollins three-pointer forcing another timeout by Redick and the Lakers. Maxwell Lewis had some impressive moments for the Lakers, scoring five of the eight straight points for Los Angeles to cut Milwaukee’s lead down to seven with 7:26 to play. The Lakers would make a furious comeback, going on a 20-0 run to retake the lead, 94-89. Quincy Olivari caught fire for the Lakers as he scored six points in short order and hounded Bucks ball handlers in the fourth. Los Angeles was able to keep Milwaukee at bay, as they held on to win.
Stat That Stood Out
The Bucks made the Lakers pay for turning the ball over, especially in the first half with Trent’s active hands. With the starters in during the first half, the Bucks scored fourteen points off the eight Lakers turnovers.
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