Billed as a battle of All-Star captains, the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers instead took the court Tuesday night without their respective franchise players. Missing Giannis Antetokounmpo, who is nursing an injured ankle, the Bucks repeatedly thwarted rallies by the Lakers, who didn't have the services of LeBron James due to a sore groin, before finally putting away Los Angeles 115-101. Khris Middleton scored 30 points and had 10 rebounds, Brook Lopez tied a season high with 28 points, and Nikola Mirotic chipped in with 23 for Milwaukee, which improved to an NBA-best 53-18.