Lakers lose to Bucks 103-113

Los Angeles, March 29 (IANS)

Kobe Bryant led all scorers with 30 points but failed to inspire his team to victory at the LA Lakers and lost to the Milwaukee Bucks 103-113, their second loss in a row in the NBA.

The Lakers have not won on consecutive nights, failing to sweep a back-to-back set for the 15th-straight time this season, reports Xinhua.

Too many turnovers and bad defence were the main reason for Lakers’ loss.

“We’ve got to find the energy necessary to maintain some concentration and not turn the ball over. These guys are really good at turning you over and also leading into the open court. If we can stop that, get our defence set, then we’ll be better,” Lakers head coach D’Antoni said just before the game.

However, the Lakers had 18 turnovers Thursday night, except Kobe’s six, Gasol and Nash made four each, Howard added two, both Meeks and Jamison made one.

“That’s no excuse,” Nash said. “I just lost the ball.”

The Milwaukee Bucks centre Larry Sanders got a career high 21 points on 8-11 shooting. Ersan Ilyasova and Brandon Jennings both had 20 points; Monta Ellis added 18 points for the Bucks.

Howard had 15 points and 15 rebounds for the Lakers, Nash donated 16 points, and Gasol finished with 12 points and nine rebounds.