The Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo was not pleased following their 128-124 home loss to the Los Angeles Lakers in double overtime on March 26.

In the aftermath of the game, Antetokounmpo vented his fury at the officials for failing to call a foul on Anthony Davis of the Lakers during a failed alley-oop layup with 2.0 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter and the score knotted at 101.

“Yeah, I don’t know. Khris [Middleton] threw the ball. I went up to get the ball,” Antetokounmpo told reporters. The replay shows Davis stumbling while holding on to Antetokounmpo in the paint, but a grinning Antetokounmpo appeared to choose his words carefully about the no-call. “I really don’t want to get fined, you know, um, but, I went up to get the ball and for some reason, I wasn’t able to get the ball and wasn’t able to end the game.”

The game would have been won by a converted free throw, but the Lakers outscored the Bucks 27-23 in the two extra sessions.

Season-Highest Victory for the Los Angeles Lakers

Despite being without LeBron James, the Lakers outscored the Bucks 27-13 in the fourth quarter and tied the game on two free throws by Taurean Prince with 43.2 seconds remaining in regulation.

“That was a monumental feat. The team scored a huge triumph. “Everybody pitched in,” D’Angelo Russell of the Lakers said to reporters following the game, complimenting head coach Darvin Ham on the plays he called in the fourth quarter. “Dude, Darvin was incredible. Near the game’s close, he provided us with several excellent looks and sets. I feel like we were all emotionally dragged into that one. Everyone was fully committed to the game and willing to do whatever it took to win.

Russell and Austin Reaves both contributed 29 points and 10 assists, while Davis topped the team with 34 points and 16 rebounds.

After the victory, the Lakers’ record improved to 40–32. They are now in ninth place in the Western Conference, trailing the Phoenix Suns by two games with ten games remaining.

What If the Bucks Had Won? At the beginning of the fourth quarter, it appeared like Antetokounmpo and the Bucks were going to cruise to a victory, regardless of the officiating. The Lakers’ free throw shooting disparity was on full show as they attempted 32 shots compared to the Bucks’ 17. With a large lead, Milwaukee should have won the game easily.

The Bucks should’ve never let the officials make calls that favored the Lakers, and unfortunately, that did happen in the final minutes. Even more astonishing is the fact that in 102 minutes of play, Davis and Russell committed only one foul.

But the officials weren’t the only reason the Bucks didn’t win that game. According to Nehm, Bucks head coach Doc Rivers blamed the team’s poor passing game for the defeat.

“We didn’t trust the pass tonight. A lot of zero-pass shots or one-pass shots and when we play like that – we get away with it sometimes because guys make shots – but we lost our trust.”

The Bucks fell to 46-26 but held on to their two-game edge on the Cleveland Cavaliers for second place in the Eastern Conference.