Luka Dončić Leaves Late, the Lakers Leave Milwaukee With Seven Straight

The win was settled long before the ending anyone will remember. Los Angeles led by 11 at halftime, by 21 after three quarters, and by 24 when Luka Dončić rose for a jumper with 4:25 left, made it, and came down on Kyle Kuzma's foot. Dončić sat on the floor holding his right ankle, got up, completed the three-point play, and walked to the locker room at 114–90. The Lakers closed out a 123–112 win — their seventh in a row, at a league-best 11–2 — and spent the postgame answering questions about ankles and heels instead of the streak.

Sixteen in the first quarter, and the game tilted early

Milwaukee's one good minute came first: a 7–2 lead, answered by a 9–0 Lakers run. Dončić scored 16 in the first quarter, and even with him held to three in the second, Los Angeles reached halftime up 61–50 — Sandro Mamukelashvili and Austin Reaves had 15 apiece by then. The third quarter ended it: a 33–23 period, Dončić closing it with an and-one jumper, the lead at 94–73, and technicals for Tyler Herro and Ziaire Williams after a late scuffle the only resistance that registered.

The former Buck ran the middle of the game

Mamukelashvili's 23 off the bench matched the season high he set Monday in Atlanta, against his former team — Milwaukee acquired his draft rights in 2021. He went 9-of-15 with five threes, the Lakers' bench scored 55 in all, and Walker Kessler added 10 points and 11 rebounds. Los Angeles finished with 48 rebounds, 19 of them offensive, and 22 fast-break points. Milwaukee never made the Lakers play a slower game.

Two exits, and two different kinds of wait

Reaves went first. Back after missing Monday's game through illness, he hurt his left heel on a missed dunk attempt with 8:21 left in the third, tried to stay in, then subbed himself out at 5:20 with the Lakers up 77–60 and limped to the locker room. He did not return. “His X-rays were negative,” coach JJ Redick said. “We'll get imaging tomorrow.” Redick also ruled out an Achilles injury. Collin Sexton needed stitches in his temple after a fourth-quarter clash of heads with Ryan Rollins — and that exit is why Dončić was back on the floor for his final minutes. “I don't think Luka would have gotten back in the game had Collin not busted his head open,” Redick said.

Dončić's own verdict was short. “I'm good,” he said. “Obviously it's painful a little bit, but I'll be fine.” Redick called it “just a light tweak.” This was the league's scoring leader coming in — 39.3 a night — producing his ninth straight game of at least 30 before the one landing that could have changed the Lakers' month. Nothing about the win needed him for those last four minutes. Everything about Sunday in Phoenix might.

Milwaukee's side of the mirror

The Bucks got real performances and another loss. Tyler Herro, back after missing Tuesday in New York with a bruised right knee, scored 27 with seven assists. Jaime Jaquez Jr., benched for the first time this season, scored 25. Rookie Nate Ament, 19 and making his first career start, threw down a second-quarter poster dunk on Kessler — his only basket. Milwaukee's closing group cut a settled game to eight with 29 seconds left before Bronny James's free throws sealed it. None of it moved the number that matters: 1–11, eight straight losses, a share of the worst start in franchise history with the 1974–75 team, in the first season after trading Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Los Angeles is the league's first team to 11 wins, and the streak is real. So is the bill coming due on the training table: Reaves's imaging on Thursday, Dončić's ankle, and a Sunday trip to Phoenix played by whoever is standing. Follow every play in the Game Center.