Lakers Beat Bucks 123-112 for Seventh Straight Win Behind Doncic and Mamukelashvili
Luka Doncic scored 32 and Sandro Mamukelashvili added 23 as the Lakers won in Milwaukee to reach 11-2 before Sunday's game at Phoenix.
The Los Angeles Lakers won their seventh straight game Wednesday night, beating the Milwaukee Bucks 123-112 at Fiserv Forum. The win moves them to 11-2, the best record in the league. Luka Doncic led everyone with 32 points. Sandro Mamukelashvili, a former Bucks second-round pick, scored 23 against his old team, which tied the season high he set Monday in Atlanta. Austin Reaves had missed that Atlanta game with an illness and came back with 18 points, according to the ESPN recap.
Walker Kessler finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds, and Collin Sexton also scored 10. Milwaukee led 7-2 early, but Los Angeles answered with a 9-0 run and stayed ahead the rest of the way. Doncic scored 16 points in the first quarter and only three in the second. Mamukelashvili and Reaves made up for it with 15 points each before halftime, and the Lakers went into the break up 61-50.
The third quarter decided it. The Lakers outscored Milwaukee 33-23 to lead 94-73, and their lead later reached 24. SB Nation noted that the Bucks kept losing defensive rebounds. Early in the fourth, Los Angeles led 31-6 in second-chance points. The Lakers also scored 28 points off 19 Milwaukee turnovers. A 13-0 Bucks run in garbage time made the final score closer, and Milwaukee won the fourth quarter 39-29. Tyler Herro came back from a bruised knee to score 25 for the Bucks, and Jaime Jaquez Jr. added a season-high 23. Milwaukee has now lost eight straight and is 1-11.
Mamukelashvili was the main story for Los Angeles. He made 9 of 15 shots, including 5 of 8 from three, and was a plus-21 in 26 minutes. Silver Screen and Roll said the stretch includes "some of the best games of his Lakers tenure." The Lakers have needed that depth. Reaves sat out Monday, and the rotation has had to cover for absences without losing ground.
What it means for Phoenix
The Lakers play next on Sunday, Nov. 15, at Phoenix. They have the full weekend off before the game. Their last loss came at Golden State, and in the seven wins since, they have won by an average of a little over 10 points. They have scored at least 116 points in every game of the streak. For the season they are scoring about 122 points a game and allowing about 114.
The Lakers have also played well on the road. They are 6-1 away from home, according to ESPN, and they won at Detroit, Atlanta and Milwaukee in the last week. Phoenix was 4-6 in the ESPN standings as of Wednesday night, 5.5 games behind the Lakers in the Pacific Division.
The main thing to watch on Sunday is whether the offense keeps producing when Doncic has a quiet stretch. In Milwaukee, his three-point second quarter did not cost the Lakers, because Mamukelashvili and Reaves kept scoring. The Lakers also did well on the glass and forced turnovers, and those edges should matter just as much against the Suns. Follow the rest of the season on our Lakers team page.