The Milwaukee Bucks defeated the Los Angeles Lakers, 115-101, at Fiserv Forum on Tuesday evening.

Both teams announced prior to the game that their respective elite-level stars would sit, with Giannis Antetokounmpo nursing an ankle injury and LeBron James simply being given the night off for rest purposes. Even with those two absences essentially negating the other, the difference in talent between the two clubs was too much for the Lakers (31-40) to overcome. The Bucks (53-18) jumped out to an 11-point first-quarter lead and that Los Angeles did whittle down to three by halftime. However, the home squad reasserted its dominance in the third period by extending their advantage back out to 15, allowing them to comfortably cruise to victory during a low-scoring final period. The visitors did a poor job with both shooting and ball security, draining only 38.4 percent of their attempts while giving the ball away on 19 occasions.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope paced the Lakers with 35 points, adding three rebounds, one assist, two steals and one block. Kyle Kuzma supplied 17 points, five boards, three assists and one steal. Rajon Rondo and Reggie Bullock pitched in matching 13-point tallies, with Rondo also dishing out 10 assists and pulling down six rebounds. JaVale McGee mustered six points but hauled in 11 boards.

As is usually the case when Antetokoumpo sits, Khris Middleton led the way for the Bucks with 30 points, adding 10 rebounds, five assists and one steal. Brook Lopez tallied 28 points, nine rebounds, three assists, four blocks and three steals. Nikola Mirotic registered 23 points, six rebounds and one assist. Eric Bledsoe managed 14 points, eight boards, seven assists and four steals. Patrick Connaughton finished with 13 points, eight rebounds and four assists off the bench.

The Lakers head back home to face the Brooklyn Nets on Friday night, while the Bucks pay a visit to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday evening.