LOS ANGELES — Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo helped seal Milwaukee’s 105-101 victory against the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night with a pair of clutch defensive plays down the stretch against LeBron James.
With 39.2 seconds remaining and the score tied at 101, Antetokounmpo blocked James from behind as the Lakers’ star attempted the go-ahead layup, paving the way for the Bucks to take the lead after Kevin Porter Jr. got fouled on the opposite end.
Then, as James drove to the basket with the Lakers trailing by two, Antetokounmpo created another turnover, knocking the ball loose for a steal with 1.5 seconds remaining to protect the lead en route to securing a win.
“Down the stretch, I just wanted to take the challenge,” Antetokounmpo said. “I wanted to stay in front of him as best I could. Because you knew that he’s going to make a play. He’s not going to pass it. And it worked out in my favor.”
The Bucks have won five of their past seven games since Antetokounmpo returned from injury Dec. 27 and six of their past nine games overall. Antetokounmpo had a modest scoring night by his superstar standards, logging 21 points on 9-of-11 shooting, but he said he was just trying to impact the game any way he could.
“We’re playing well, right? So, we cannot be comfortable,” Antetokounmpo said. “We can’t be complacent right now. We got to keep on pushing, pushing our envelope, put our foot in the pedal and keep on moving forward.”
It was the Lakers’ first clutch loss this season; they entered Friday an NBA-best 13-0 in such games, defined as a five-point game in the final five minutes.
It was also the first time Antetokounmpo and James played in a regular-season game against each other since 2022.
In his locker after the game, Antetokounmpo had a signed purple No. 23 jersey from James. Giannis’ brother, Thanasis, had a signed jersey from Bronny James.
Giannis Antetokounmpo collects jerseys from his contemporaries around the league and said he asked James on the court after the final buzzer for this latest addition to his collection.
“You never know,” Antetokounmpo said. “Might be our last game against one another.”
He added: “It means a lot to me. I think he’s a blueprint for every athlete, not just basketball athlete. Being able to be consistent for 23 years. Available. Be a winner, lead by example. It’s incredible. And any opportunity I have to be around greatness and compete against greatness, I will always take it. I never take it for granted.
“I have the utmost respect for him and his family and the way he’s carried himself for 23 years. And as I said, I miss going against him. I think he brings the best out of me as a player and he’s one of the guys that I definitely look up to on the court and off the court.”
James said: “At this point in my career, it’s always great to go against some of the greats. If it’s Giannis, if it’s Steph, KD, James, Russ. Guys that I’ve been either going against for a long time or played with.”
