The Los Angeles Lakers slumped to yet another defeat on Thursday, losing 126-106 to the Milwaukee Bucks at Fiserv Forum.

Lakers' JJ Redick Had Odd Way of Explaining How He'll Know Luka Doncic is 'Back'

The Bucks ran away with the win here, thanks to a lopsided third quarter, and Lakers head coach JJ Redick cut a frustrated figure on the night.

Redick had the Lakers firing on all cylinders not too long ago, but they are now on a three-game losing streak. They have dropped to 40-24 this season, and Redick spoke about what went wrong for his team in this latest loss in his postgame press conference.

“We didn’t execute at a high level and frankly, when you’re missing guys you have to play hard but you also have to execute,” Redick said, via Spectrum Sportsnet.

“Play hard, play smart, the favorite slogan of Billy Hicks at Cape Spring High School. Play hard and play smart; you gotta do both. And we played hard. I don’t think we played smart, defensively.”

Redick felt that was bound to happen as well, considering the different lineups he has been forced to use due to injuries. Some groups haven’t even practiced together, and he’s hoping to get players back from injury to correct some of the issues plaguing his team at present.

The Bucks went 41-of-86 (47.7%) from the field and 17-of-40 (42.5%) from beyond the arc against the Lakers. As if that wasn’t bad enough for the visitors, the hosts also shot 33 free throws and made 27 of them. Put all that together, and you get a blowout loss.

This was also easily the worst defensive showing from the Lakers after the All-Star break this season. It was the first time an opponent had scored more than 115 points against them since the Utah Jazz did so in a surprising 131-119 win on Feb. 12.

Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick calls a play in the third quarter against the Milwaukee Bucks at Fiserv Forum.

Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick calls a play in the third quarter against the Milwaukee Bucks at Fiserv Forum.

Benny Sieu-Imagn Images

It’s unclear when the Lakers’ long injury list will shorten, so Redick has to make do with what he has right now. Up next for him is the daunting task of slowing down Nikola Jokic as the Lakers take on the Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena on Friday.

Redick had come up with a great game plan to limit Jokic to 12 points when the teams last met on Feb. 22. He’ll need to find a way to limit the Serbian’s influence again if the Lakers are to avoid suffering a fourth straight defeat.