Lakers shutdown Giannis, maintain perfect road record

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

 

LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers outdueled Giannis Antetokounmpo on the road in one of the most highly-anticipated matchups of the year, 113-106.

Both teams are looking for an impressive bounce-back win after suffering losses in their past games, with the Lakers losing a huge lead to the Golden State Warriors and the Bucks running out of gas against Kevin Durant and the Brooklyn Nets.

Through four tightly-contested quarters, James and Davis’ pick-and-roll game proved to be a lethal offensive option for the Lakers as the versatile big man scored at will against Jrue Holiday in the switch.

However, the story of the game was James’ huge offensive night, firing a season-high 34 points including the deep dagger three with under two minutes left that helped the Lakers secure a comfortable cushion.

The Lakers were also locked in from rainbow country and sank 19 of their 37 long-range attempts with six coming from James.

The solid offensive artillery of the Lakers’ shooters headed by Kentavious Caldwell-Pope also hurt the Bucks after draining seven of his 10 attempts.

Antetokounmpo’s 25-points and 12 rebounds performance was not enough to contain the surging Lakers with Jrue Holiday adding 22 points and Khris Middleton contributing 20.