Lakers begin trip by beating Bucks

LeBron James scored a season-high 34 points in the opener of a seven-game road trip, helping the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Milwaukee Bucks 113-106 on Thursday night.

Los Angeles (12-4) bounced back after blowing a doubledigit lead in the fourth quarter of a 115-113 loss to the Warriors on Monday night. The Bucks (9-6) dropped their second straight.

The Lakers shot 19 of 37 from 3-point range, with James going 6 of 10 and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope making 7 of 10. Caldwell-Pope finished with 23 points.

Giannis Antetokounmpo had 25 points and 12 rebounds for Milwaukee, but he also committed nine turnovers. Jrue Holiday scored 22 points and Khris Middleton finished with 20.

THREE MORE GAMES POSTPONED >> The Memphis Grizzlies are the latest NBA team that will have a coronavirus-related extended break from games, after the league announced that their next three contests will be postponed because of a lack of available players.

Tonight’s game at Portland, along with home games Sunday and Monday against Sacramento, were pushed back. That decision came one day after the Grizzlies’ game at Portland, scheduled for Wednesday, was also called off.

Memphis is assured of what will be no less than a nine-day break. The Grizzlies played Monday against Phoenix — getting their fifth straight win to improve to 7-6. The earliest they’ll play again is Jan. 27.

The three additional postponements bring the total of games that have been postponed so far this season to 20, with all but one of those coming since Jan. 10.