The Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers wrap up their two-game regular-season series, and Purple-and-Gold hope to sweep the Bucks for the first time since 2009-10.
Updates Injury for Milwaukee Bucks – Los Angeles Lakers
Once LeBron James finished his quest to become the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, the Los Angeles Lakers could focus on getting back into the race for the playoffs.
On Wednesday, James surpassed Kareem Abdul-mark Jabbar’s against Oklahoma City, and on Thursday, he will host the surging Milwaukee Bucks.
Despite the fact that the Lakers played in front of a celebrity-studded crowd on Tuesday, they still lost a nail-biter to the Thunder by a score of 133-130. The Lakers appeared less concerned with playing defense and more concerned with helping James break the scoring barrier.
“It sucks that we didn’t get the win on a night like this but there are a lot of things to pull from it,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said.
“I’m happy that Bron was able to accomplish what he accomplished and now we can just move on and submerge ourselves into how we try to get better and win enough games to be situated into the postseason.”
James scored 38 points, needing 36 to break the record. On the other hand, fellow star Anthony Davis only managed 13 points on 9 shots in 31 minutes of action.
Since Davis’s return from a foot injury, the Lakers have gone 3-4, putting them in 13th place in the Western Conference. Davis has been listed as questionable on the team’s injury report for the majority of the season, but he should be good to go on Thursday.
James’ right foot, which started hurting toward the end of Tuesday’s game, is currently the problem. The Lakers’ all-star is doubtful to play because of a lingering ankle injury, though he has appeared in each of the team’s last four contests.
D’Angelo Russell, Jarred Vanderbilt (back), and Malik Beasley are all new additions, but it’s not clear if any of them will see significant playing time Wednesday if the superstar forward is out. If James is unable to play against the Bucks on Thursday, he will have a chance to play on Saturday against the Warriors.
The Bucks will try to get back at the Lakers for beating them 133-129 at home on Dec. 2.
On Wednesday, the Bucks will face the Hawks with their own star scorer in tow. Currently ranked third in the NBA, Giannis Antetokounmpo is averaging a career-high 32.2 points per game.
Milwaukee has won eight straight games and ten of their last eleven. Unlike the Lakers, the Bucks seem content with their current standing as they enter Tuesday’s games in second place in the Eastern Conference, only one game behind the NBA-best Boston Celtics.
Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton, and Jrue Holiday have all played key roles in the team’s recent success since they were all reunited on the court at the same time. Because of his sprained right knee, Bobby Portis is still on the sidelines.
Head coach Mike Budenholzer of the Bucks made the following statement: “I think having Khris back, getting 20-plus minutes from him has been helpful. We miss Bobby Portis right now but we’re a team that is just focused on getting better, focused on each day.”
Injury Reports Lakers
- Russell Westbrook – Questionable
- LeBron James (Ankle) – Questionable
- Juan Toscano-Anderson – Questionable
- Anthony Davis (Foot) – Questionable
- Damian Jones – Questionable
- Scotty Pippen Jr. (Concussion) – Questionable
Injury Reports Bucks
- Joe Ingles (Rest) – Out
- Brook Lopez (Illness) – Questionable
- Giannis Antetokounmpo (Knee) – Questionable
- Bobby Portis (Knee) – Out
- Serge Ibaka (Personal) – Out
NBA Regular Season Schedule
| Thursday, February 9, 2023 | ||
| AWAY | HOME | TIME / TV |
| Denver | Orlando | 7:00 PM |
| Phoenix | Atlanta | 7:30 PM |
| Chicago | Brooklyn | 7:30 pmTNT |
| Milwaukee | L.A. Lakers | 10:00 pmTNT |
