MILWAUKEE — Down 19 to the Milwaukee Bucks with 8:25 remaining in regulation on Tuesday night, the Los Angeles Lakers had every right to throw in the towel, especially on the first night of a six-game road trip. Instead, they chose to keep fighting and wound up pulling off a dramatic comeback to win 128-124 in double overtime.
“Hell yeah, hell yeah, definitely top-five [win of the season], might be top-three,” Lakers head coach Darvin Ham said. “We dealt with a lot of adversity throughout the entirety of the game, were able to pull ourselves together, stayed focused, never gave up … that was a hell of a team win right there.”
Despite still trailing by double digits with 3:26 left, the Lakers nearly won the game in regulation. Austin Reaves had a wide open look from 30 feet with 0.8 seconds left, but saw his heave hit the backboard and spin off the rim. Two overtime periods later, Reaves would redeem himself by draining a go-ahead 3 with 37.8 seconds to play.
“This is the stuff you dream about as a kid,” Reaves said. “Being on the road with your guys, battling out an amazing team and having opportunities to make big shots. That’s what I’ve grown up living to do. Counting down in the backyard to win a game, if I somehow miss, time kinda slows down a bit and I get to count down again … in those moments I’m out of breath, but adrenaline is running so fast you kinda don’t feel it.”
With the Lakers’ big win in the books, here’s a look at all the numbers you need to know from a wild night in Milwaukee:
19
The Lakers did not have a lead in regulation and were down by as much as 19 early in the fourth quarter. This was tied for the second-biggest comeback of the season for the Lakers, falling short of only their 21-point comeback against the Los Angeles Clippers late last month.
52
Anthony Davis has been plagued by injuries throughout his career, but that has not been the case this season. He’s already played 68 games and is on pace to hit the 70-game mark for the first time since 2018. His effort on Tuesday was a perfect example…
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