The Los Angeles Lakers entered Tuesday night’s game winners of five of their last seven but faced a daunting test ahead.
They embarked on a six-game road trip, starting with Tuesday's game against the Milwaukee Bucks. Oh, and they were without LeBron James, who missed the game nursing a sore left ankle.
The Lakers were 9.5-point dogs and +430 on the moneyline, so it wasn’t shocking that they were down 19 points with 8:24 left in the fourth quarter. Then a funny thing happened – they went on a 26-7 run to tie the game and eventually win a 128-124 double-overtime thriller against the mighty Bucks.
Austin Reaves was the hero as he recorded his second triple-double with 29 points, 14 boards and 10 assists. He scored five of the team’s nine points in double overtime, including the tiebreaking 3 with 38.1 seconds left that proved to be the game-winner.
Los Angeles has been a 9.5-point dog in three games James has missed this season. However, the Lakers have rallied by going 2-1 as big ‘dogs without him.
Perhaps the result shouldn’t have been such a shock, though, considering how poor Milwaukee’s been in this spot. They’re the least profitable team in the NBA when favored by 9.5 points or more. They’re 6-15 against the spread, providing backers with a -45% return on investment. A $100 bettor would be down $945.
A major reason for the Lakers' win was Giannis Antetokounmpo missing a pair of free throws with 24.2 ticks left. However, it wasn't just a blow for the Bucks — but to the public as well. Antetokounmpo scoring over 29.5 points was the most popular bet of the night. However, he finished with 29 exactly after missing the pair of attempts from the charity stripe.
