LOS ANGELES — A rare sixth game in eight nights for the Lakers meant Thursday’s matchup against the Milwaukee Bucks would feature opportunities for players who don’t usually get them.
And with six rotation players unavailable because of injuries, including starters Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, LeBron James and Rui Hachimura, the chances for players to step up expanded.
Enter rookie Bronny James, who seized the opportunities in the Lakers’ 118-89 blowout loss to the Bucks in his best NBA game since being selected in the second round of the NBA draft last June.
Bronny James, the son of Lakers star LeBron James, had career highs of 17 points and five assists to go with three rebounds and a blocked shot in 30 minutes – nearly double the most amount of playing time he had in any game leading into Thursday.
Bronny shot 7 for 10 from the field, including 2 for 4 from behind the arc.
Fellow rookie Dalton Knecht also scored 17 points.
Veteran center Alex Len was the only other Laker to score in double figures, finishing with 10 points and nine rebounds.
Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks, who were without Damian Lillard, with 28 points, seven rebounds, four assists and a pair of steals.
Gary Trent Jr. had 23 points off the bench for Milwaukee and former Laker Kyle Kuzma added 20 points.
The Lakers’ loss was their first at Crypto.com Arena since falling to the Charlotte Hornets on Feb. 19, ending a nine-game home winning streak.
The defeat also ended the three-game win streak they were on since returning from a winless four-game road trip.
The Lakers (43-26) are in fourth place in the Western Conference standings, a half-game ahead of the fifth-place Memphis Grizzlies (43-27).
The Lakers close their five-game homestand on Saturday against the Chicago Bulls.
More to come on this story.
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