Clippers’ stars surpass Giannis, Lillard in 127-117 win over Bucks

On January 26, 2025By Littum

INGLEWOOD, Calif. – In a close game that featured outstanding shooting and superstar-level play from four future Hall of Famers on the court between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Los Angeles Clippers, it was a run sparked by the Clippers’ bench players in the fourth quarter that helped them to a 127-117 victory Saturday night at the Intuit Dome.

The Clippers (26-19) snapped the Bucks’ league-best five-game winning streak (tied with the Memphis Grizzlies) to drop Milwaukee to 25-18 as they begin a four-game Western Conference road trip.

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Clippers guard James Harden scored 17 of his 40 points in the third quarter — but Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 15 of his 36 in a back-and-forth duel between stars that gave the Clippers a 94-93 lead entering the fourth.

Damian Lillard then scored seven straight Bucks points to open the fourth and give Milwaukee a 100-98 lead, but a Clippers unit with bench players Amir Coffey and Kevin Porter Jr. forced five Bucks turnovers and scored seven points off offensive rebounds to keep going. a 14-0 run and take a 112-100 lead with seven minutes left.

It turned out to be the decisive three-minute stretch of the game.

Although Antetokounmpo would score six straight points for the Bucks to cut the deficit to 114-106, Norman Powell and Harden proved too tough to stop the streak for the Bucks.

Powell scored 14 of his 33 points in the fourth quarter, while Harden had 11 points in the final quarter.

Lillard had a triple-double with 29 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds. He made 16 of his 17 free throws but was 1-for-9 from behind the three-point line. Khris Middleton, playing for the first time in nearly a week because of the Bucks’ travel woes in New Orleans, was 0-for-4 from the field with four fouls in 19 minutes.

Milwaukee heads to Utah to play the Jazz on Monday.

The Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard, still on a minutes restriction from an offseason knee injury, scored 18 points and had four assists in 24 minutes. Ivica Zubac was the only other Los Angeles player to reach double figures in scoring with 12. Coffey had nine and Porter had eight.

Los Angeles was fueled by 24 second-chance points on 12 offensive rebounds, while Milwaukee scored 23 points off 13 Clippers turnovers.

Gary Trent Jr. (19 points), Taurean Prince (14) and Brook Lopez (13) reached double figures for the Bucks along with Antetokounmpo and Lillard.

Bucks’ Gary Trent Jr. continues to shoot

After a 7-for-11 performance from behind the three-point line at Fiserv Forum on Thursday, Gary Trent Jr. started. Saturday’s game 2-for-4 from distance – which paved the way for 2 two-point field goals in a 10-point first half.

He then went 3-for-5 from deep in the second half to finish 5-for-9. He made at least 4 three-pointers in a game for the eighth time this season.

Trent, who lost his starting job in part because he shot just 27.5% from behind the three-point line in his first 11 games from Oct. 23-Nov. 16, has been on fire lately.

Not only is he shooting 49.3% in 29 games since November 12th, but he also made a whopping 53.7% of his triples in the month of January leading up to Saturday’s game.

Not coincidentally, the Bucks have posted a 23-9 record since Nov. 12 and are 6-2 in games played in 2025.

Bucks rookie Tyler Smith has a whirlwind Saturday

Following the Bucks’ win over Miami on Thursday, where they played four minutes in a blowout victory, the team assigned second-year forward Chris Livingston and rookies AJ Johnson and Tyler Smith to their G League affiliate, the Wisconsin Herd. The trio traveled to Oshkosh to play a game Saturday night against Capital City Go-Go, while the Bucks headed to California early Friday.

Forward Bobby Portis Jr. however, had to leave the team due to a personal matter, and the Bucks quickly recalled the 6-foot, 10-inch Smith. Neither player was at the Bucks’ shootaround Saturday morning, but Smith was listed as available to play against the Clippers later in the afternoon after arriving around 1 p.m. 15

Doc Rivers said before the game that he didn’t think Smith would fill Portis’ workload, saying, “I don’t think so. I mean, I don’t know. We just needed another body and Tyler is the one guy who has an NBA shot. He spreads the floor and the way he shoots the three and puts another guy who can make threes on the floor is good for us.”

Smith didn’t play meaningful minutes, checking in for the final 71 seconds, with Brook Lopez logging 41 minutes and Giannis Antetokounmpo playing 35.

Smith had a long day as he woke up with a start at 02:00 a.m. CT to a waiting text telling him he had to be in Milwaukee for a flight at 7 to Chicago before the route to Los Angeles.

“I mean, it’s never really routine,” Smith told the Journal Sentinel, whose day interrupted his usual game-day preparation. “I’m a rookie, so I understand what’s going on. But I mean, I’m prepared for this.”

He said Bucks assistant coaches Jason Love, Jack Herum and Donovan Ham sent him film on the Clippers to review, but Smith’s only physical activity came in pregame warmups.

The 20-year-old has appeared in 12 NBA games and played a season-high 8 minutes, 23 seconds in New York on Nov. 8. He played 5:16 at Detroit on Dec. 3.

Averaging just over 26 minutes in 10 games with the Pack, Smith is shooting 27.8% from behind the three-point line, averaging 12.7 points per game. match. He also pulled down 5.7 rebounds and blocked 1.0 shots per game. match.

“I’m getting more comfortable in the system,” Smith said. “The game slows down for me. The G League games are fast, so when you watch an NBA game now, everything slows down because everyone is on purpose. So you have to be intentional.”

AJ Green injury update

Bucks shooting guard AJ Green strained his left quadriceps against Toronto on Jan. 17 and has missed the last three games for the Bucks. Although he has been ruled out quickly in each of those games, Green got some one-on-one after the team’s Saturday morning shootaround and an intense pregame workout.

“He’s close,” Bucks head coach Doc Rivers said.

The 25-year-old has developed into one of the league’s best three-point shooters, shooting 44.2% on about 6 three-point attempts per game. match.

5 numbers

5: Career triple-doubles for Damian Lillard, and two in a row after posting a 29-point, 10-assist, 10-rebound effort vs. Clippers. This comes after his 10th^th rebound from Thursday’s game against Miami was given back to him afterward after a stat review. He originally got it at the moment, but then it was taken away and awarded to Brook Lopez.

16-18: Bucks’ first-half free-throw performance shooting at the “wall” of fans, a very steep row of seats behind the basket. Giannis Antetokounmpo went 5-for-6 and Damian Lillard 9-for-10 in the first half as Milwaukee shot to the basket. The Bucks would finish the game 30-for-34 from the charity stripe.

16: Play back where point guard Ryan Rollins could be active after Sunday’s game. The Bucks have 39 games left in the regular season. Rollins is currently a two-way player, and players signed to those deals can only be active for 50 games in a season — but head coach Doc Rivers said there’s a chance the team makes a roster move for to fully guarantee Rollins’ deal for the rest of the season.

8-11: Bucks road record. They haven’t been .500 this season since starting the year 1-1 on October 27th. They were 18-22 on the road last season. From 2018-23, they were one of the best road teams in the NBA, compiling a 123-74 (62.4%) record away from the Fiserv Forum.

17.002: Career points for Brook Lopez as he becomes the third player on the team and 104th^th players in history to reach the 17,000-point plateau (Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo). The Brooklyn Nets’ all-time leading scorer (10,444), Lopez has now scored 5,597 with Milwaukee.

Is Giannis playing?

Probably. The MVP candidate continues to deal with soreness in his right knee, but has yet to miss a game with the issue he’s been dealing with since training camp.

What happened to PJ Tucker?

Milwaukee fan favorite PJ Tucker, an important part of 2021 championship teamhasn’t played a game this season despite being on the Clippers roster. Officially listed as “away from the team,” the 39-year-old forward hasn’t played a regular season game for the Clippers since April 14 of last season, having sought a trade from Los Angeles for several seasons.

He is making $11 million this season, in the final year of a three-year, $33.2 million deal originally signed with Philadelphia in 2022.

What time is the Bucks game?

It’s a late start with the team in California tipping off around 9:30 p.m. CT.

The game will be broadcast locally on FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin with Lisa Byington, Marques Johnson and Melanie Ricks on the call.

AJ Green, out (left quad strain)
Bobby Portis Jr., out (personal reasons)
Giannis Antetokounmpo, probable (right patella tendinopathy)
Khris Middleton, probable (bilateral ankle surgery injury treatment)

Bucks starting lineup

Guards: Andre Jackson Jr., Damian Lillard
Forwards: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Taurean Prince
Center: Brook Lopez

Bucks vs. Clippers odds, over/under

Los Angeles is a 2.5-point favorite over Milwaukee, with the over/under set at 225.5 points per game. BetMGM.