LeBron James pours in 34 as Lakers beat Bucks

[January 22, 2021]  LeBron James scored a season-high 34 points to help keep the Los Angeles Lakers undefeated on the road this season with a 113-106 win against the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday night.

The Lakers extended their franchise-best road start to 8-0.

Los Angeles' Kentavious Caldwell-Pope made a season-high seven 3-pointers on 10 attempts in a 23-point night, and Anthony Davis had 18 points and nine rebounds. James shot 6-for-10 from 3-point range and added eight assists for the Lakers in the opener of a seven-game road trip.

Montrezl Harrell added 12 points off the bench for Los Angeles, which shot 19 of 37 (51.4 percent) from 3-point distance.

Giannis Antetokounmpo had 25 points and 12 rebounds, Jrue Holiday added 22 points and seven assists and Khris Middleton scored 20 for Milwaukee, which lost its second straight. Antetokounmpo committed a career-high nine turnovers.

The Lakers led 86-81 after three quarters, and they increased the gap to 96-85 on a Markieff Morris 3-pointer with 8:42 to go. However, the Bucks pulled back within two with 3:05 left on a Middleton layup.

Alex Caruso sank a 3-pointer to move Los Angeles ahead 108-101 with 1:42 remaining. After an Antetokounmpo layup, James hit a deep 3-pointer to beat the shot clock and move the Lakers ahead 111-103 with 1:04 remaining, and Milwaukee was out of comebacks.

Milwaukee Bucks guard Jrue Holiday (21) is defended by Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) and forward Anthony Davis (3) at the Bradley Center. Mandatory Credit: Nick Monroe/Handout Photo via USA TODAY Sports

Caldwell-Pope, who came into the game third in the NBA in 3-point percentage at 53.7 percent, hit a 35-footer at the buzzer to cap an 11-2 run to close the first half and give the Lakers a 63-57 lead at the break.

Caldwell-Pope and James made 3-pointers to start the second half and give the Lakers their first double-digit lead at 69-57.

The Bucks came back with a 7-0 run and continued to stay close in the third quarter despite two more treys from Caldwell-Pope.

The Bucks led by as many as seven in the first quarter before taking a 33-29 lead into the second.

--Field Level Media

[© 2021 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2021 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.