LOS ANGELES (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo had 38 points and 10 rebounds, and the Milwaukee Bucks rallied in the second half for their ninth consecutive victory, 115–106 over the Los Angeles Lakers without LeBron James on Thursday night, Feb. 9.
James sat out to rest his sore left ankle and foot two nights after he passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to become the NBA’s career scoring leader. The Bucks still fell behind by 11 in a tepid first half and never pulled away from an opponent with only nine players in uniform, but Antetokounmpo racked up 23 points in the second half.
Khris Middleton scored 22 points and Jrue Holiday added 18 for the Bucks, who matched their longest winning streak since their 9–0 start to this season. Milwaukee is primed for the stretch run to the postseason after adding veteran Jae Crowder to its talented core at the trade deadline….