Giannis Antetokounmpo Raves About Lakers Ahead of Huge Thursday Matchup

Thursday night’s upcoming battle between the Los Angeles Lakers and Milwaukee Bucks has Milwaukee forward Giannis Antetokounmpo pumped up, though he’s well aware of the challenge facing his team.

Antetokounmpo and the Bucks watched their 18-game winning streak end on Monday night in a 120-116 loss to the Dallas Mavericks. Despite an outstanding performance being wasted in the loss, the All-Star has moved on and is already focusing on the matchup with the Lakers.

“Yeah, obviously. It’s gonna be a good game, gonna be a test for us,” said Antetokounmpo, who scored a game-high 48 points to go with 14 rebounds and four assists Monday against the Mavericks. “The Lakers are one of the best teams in the league.

“We’ve gotta bring it, gotta play good basketball, gotta move the ball, but obviously as a team, we don’t wanna lose two in a row,” he added. “We’ve just gotta go out there and try to get a win.”

Even with the loss, the Bucks will enter the game with a record of 24-4, good for best in the Eastern Conference. The Lakers presently own the best record in the Western Conference at 24-3.

The presence of both LeBron James and Anthony Davis on the Lakers is one of the challenges that Antetokounmpo knows the Bucks are facing.

“They’ve got two of the top-five players in the world, so …” Antetokounmpo said.

Before the Lakers play the Bucks, L.A. has a Tuesday night road date against the Indiana Pacers.

With James averaging 26.1 points, 10.7 assists and 7.3 rebounds per game and Davis contributing 27.4 points, 9.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists per contest, the Lakers are hoping they can add one more victory before the pivotal battle on Thursday.