Milwaukee Bucks started their West Coast long weekend with a showdown against the Los Angeles Lakers. The two best teams in each conference were facing off against each other. With the hype around the MVP battle between LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo, this game billed as a Finals preview and will not be surprised if they have a huge rating for a late-night Friday game. Bucks fell 113-103 losing their second game in the last three. Lakers hold serve at home. But this is a reminder to all, that this means almost nothing for the playoffs and the season.

Player of the Game: Giannis Antetokounmpo – Good night for Giannis even though it didn’t feel like it. Giannis finished with 32 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists. He went 10-for-10 from the free-throw line before a scary fall altered his shot a bit. Giannis did what he could in this one although I felt there were some times where he settled versus taking it to the tin. That might be him working on his mid-range game and trying to elevate that part. But I’d prefer if he did that against Phoenix, although that is a correlation to how much this game doesn’t matter.

Honorable Mention: Donte DiVencenzo – Donte must have been mad that he didn’t get on here after Indiana. Donte had a nice game on Friday night. He finished with 17 points and three made 3-pointers. DiVencenzo scored most of his points in the third quarter. Milwaukee looked like they were going to get blown out then Donte got hot scoring 14 points for the Bucks. I’ve been telling a few people and will tell y’all too, DiVencenzo is going to win Milwaukee a playoff game this year.

One Thing I Didn’t Like: Khris Middleton did not show up – Man, this sucks. Khris Middleton is playing like an All-NBA player this season. Middleton scored only 12 points and missed 14 of his 19 shots. He also had three turnovers. Middleton needs to figure out how to get himself going in times like this. When Middleton struggles, it doesn’t seem like he attacks the basket enough in those situations.

Another Thing I Don’t Like: Bucks have no idea how to come back – My only worry from this game is that I’m concerned that Milwaukee has zero ideas on how to come back in a game. Milwaukee got down thanks to an 18-0 run by Los Angeles. Bucks tried to push the ball uphill, but it seemed way too methodical versus trying to push the pedal on the gas. Maybe it’s due to having three games in the next four days? Who knows.

Next up: Milwaukee plays Phoenix on Sunday afternoon. Giannis wrecked his knee at the end of the game, so, we’ll see if he plays in the desert on Sunday night. Suns had a nice win against Portland last night, but they’re not a good home team typically. Aron Baynes is healthy again which is bad news if Giannis is playing because he likes to dunk on Baynes.

Charlie.