Lakers rally for late lead but falter at finish in loss to Bucks

The two stars of the Lakers, LeBron James and Luka Doncic, carried the Lakers to a good start to the season, being the leaders.

But on Friday night, James and Doncic couldn’t hold it together for the Lakers, both making late mistakes that led to a 105-101 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks at Crypto.com Arena. It was the Lakers’ first defeat in a decisive game after 13 such victories at the start of the season.

Doncic fouled the Bucks’ Kevin Porter Jr. while shooting a three-pointer with 16.2 seconds left and the score was tied. Even worse, it was Doncic’s sixth foul of the game.

Porter made two of three free throws to give the Bucks a 103-101 lead.

The Lakers put the ball in James’ hands for the final shot, but he turned the ball over on a drive, with Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo knocking the ball away from behind. Porter made two more free throws with 0.6 seconds left to seal it.

James had scored 13 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter, carrying the Lakers with him while finishing with 10 assists and nine rebounds. But he was blocked by Antetokounmpo in the last minute when the game was tied, and this turnover in the final seconds hurt.

Lakers guard Luka Doncic, center, makes a pass over Bucks guard AJ Green (20) during the first half Friday night at Crypto.com Arena.

(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

Doncic finished with 24 points, nine rebounds and nine assists, but was just eight of 25 from the field, his worst shooting performance at home this season.

The Lakers (23-13) played their fourth game this week, looking sluggish at times due to the workload. They had routed the Bucks in Milwaukee in November, but this game would be much closer.

It was the kind of night in which Doncic committed his fifth foul with 2.1 seconds left in the third quarter.

He scored 12 points in the third, doing everything he could to keep the Lakers within reach of the Bucks, trailing 86-77 early in the fourth. He was four for nine in the quarter after shooting three for 12 in the first half.

The Lakers trailed by 12 points in the second quarter while looking a little sluggish. But James scored his final five points, on a three-pointer and a dunk, to bring the Lakers within nine at halftime.

Much – if not all – of the Lakers’ game plan focused on fighting the nearly unstoppable force that is Antetokounmpo.

And much of that work fell to center Deandre Ayton, who the Lakers felt was best equipped to handle that assignment because of his 7-foot size, length and strength.

But it was also going to take the Lakers as a group to slow down Antetokounmpo, who finished with 21 points, six rebounds and five assists.

Jarred Vanderbilt gave the Lakers a big effort with nine points and nine rebounds coming off the bench, and his usual defense is tough.

By halftime, the Lakers had done a good job slowing down Antetokounmpo, limiting him to 12 points. But he was six of six from the field in 13 minutes. He also had three rebounds and three assists.

Hachimura update

Lakers forward Rui Hachimura missed his sixth straight game with right calf soreness. Hachimura has been practicing and there is some hope he can play Monday night in Sacramento.

“He’s made a lot of progress just in terms of getting the strength and mobility back in his calf and he had a good workout today,” trainer JJ Redick said. “There is a lot of optimism that he will be available on Monday, but we will see how the next few days go.”