After making three separate trades in less than 48 hours leading up to the NBA trade deadline, the Los Angeles Lakers were short-handed against the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday.
Russell Westbrook, Patrick Beverley, Thomas Bryant, Damian Jones and Juan Toscano-Anderson were all outbound, and the team is waiting on D’Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley, Jarred Vanderbilt, Mo Bamba and Devon Reed to get fully onboarded.
In addition, LeBron James didn’t suit up due to left foot soreness, leaving Los Angeles with a lack of available players.
It came out strongly, taking an 11-point lead in the second quarter. But once Anthony Davis went to the bench in the third quarter with his fourth foul, the game turned in Milwaukee’s favor. It outscored the Lakers, 38-23, in the period, and they never caught up, losing 115-106.
This was their third loss in a row, and it dropped them to a 25-31 record, which puts them 2.5 games behind the 10th-place Portland Trail Blazers, who they will face on Monday in Oregon.