The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Milwaukee Bucks – with an unsung star making his presence felt.
Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves both had minor injury scares in the LA Lakers‘ victory in Milwaukee, and this was a game where the players around them needed to step up.
Fortunately, in addition to Doncic‘s 32 points and Reaves’ 18, there were 10-point contributions from both Walker Kessler and Collin Sexton.
But the biggest impact belonged to Sandro Mamukelashvili, who scored 23 points, his best outing for the LA Lakers since signing in the summer.
Former LA Lakers star Robert Horry spoke to the Lakers’ postgame show on Spectrum and praised Mamukelashvili, explaining that he was better than he had realized. He also compared him to former Lakers’ player Julius Randle, currently with the Brooklyn Nets.
Horry explained: “You know who I compare him to? He’s a more polished Julius Randle. You watch how Julius just runs you over, he kind of avoids you and gets to the rack, and they’re both left-handed.
“Hopefully this guy can turn into an All-Star like Julius did, because the way he’s been playing lately has been amazing.
“I remember watching him when he was in Toronto, and this dude is just bullying people. He’s just playing, and I didn’t know he could shoot this well.
“There are so many things that he’s able to show you, and it goes to show you that when you get the opportunity to showcase your talent, you can really see what someone can do.”
10 games in, you gets your vote for each NBA award? 🏆
MVP – DPOY – MIP – ROTY – 6MOTY
Lakers stay on top in the West
The LA Lakers’ win moves them to 11-2 for the season, with a seven-game win streak that places them top of the Western Conference.
They were always favoured to beat the struggling Bucks, but at the start of the game it was competitive, with the Lakers only leading 30-28 after the first quarter.
Horry was impressed with how they handled it, adding: “This is that that trap game where you say, “Okay, we can go ahead and half it and get a win.” And you see how Milwaukee was fighting in that first half and the Lakers like, “Oh, no. We can’t have this.”
“And they came out and took care of business in the second half.”
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