R Ashwin has lashed out at the Tamil Nadu cricket administration, the team management and senior players for driving the state's first-class cricket to a perilous situation where players are "succumbing to the basics of cricket."

"I don't know where to start and where to end, to be honest, because I don't think there is any lack of effort," Ashwin, the India and Tamil Nadu offspinning allrounder, told reporters from Sportstar, The Times of India, and The New Indian Express, after their 71-run loss to Himachal Pradesh in the Ranji Trophy in Dindigul on Thursday.

It was Tamil Nadu's second straight loss in the tournament, and the dearth of solidity in their batting stood exposed in their defeat to Himachal in particular, as they lost 7 for 42 chasing 217.

"I feel there is probably too much inexperience," Ashwin said. "Losing three players (Dinesh Karthik, M Vijay and Washington Sundar to wrist, ankle and finger injuries respectively), who were batsmen with experience, from the last game didn't help. We were outplayed in both the games, especially on the batting front. I've spoken to the selectors. In the next couple of years, we need to pick 15-20 and play them come what may. That's the only way forward."

Tamil Nadu went into the first-class season this year with runners-up finishes in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, the domestic one-day competition, and the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, the 20-over tournament, suffering narrow defeats to Karnataka in both finals. For the first two matches of the competition, Tamil Nadu named allrounder Vijay Shankar as their captain, replacing Dinesh Karthik, who voluntarily gave up the post. Ashwin, too, was in the captaincy fray. However, it is understood that his likely non-availability for the state side due to his Test commitments for India's tour of New Zealand in January 2020, made Shankar the first-choice candidate.

A major part of the thrust of Ashwin's argument was on what he believes is a veneer of vigor among Tamil Nadu's sides across formats. He made it clear that giving longer runs to inexperienced players in the side is paramount if Tamil Nadu were to boost their health in the first-class cricket.

"It's a rebuilding phase; I don't think we are ready," Ashwin said. "It cannot start and stop with individuals. It runs deeper. The exposure to play swing bowling is lacking. We need to go to events like the KSCA tournament. That was a major part of my growth as a cricketer. I also feel it is time to revive MJ Gopalan Trophy.

"It's not like you send back two players tomorrow and get somebody else. That's not going to change things. We need to understand this is not going to change overnight. Red-ball cricket is a different kettle of fish. In white ball, all the seniors were there after the group league. That made things look hunky-dory. But we need to be honest with ourselves."

In his trademark outspoken manner, Ashwin also held senior players accountable for the deterioration of the quality of Tamil Nadu's red-ball mettle. At the centre of his scathing assessment was S Badrinath, the former India and Tamil Nadu batsman, who moved to Vidarbha in 2014-15, after 15 seasons with Tamil Nadu.

"We cannot allow the senior players to be the way they want," Ashwin said. "We need to make them inclusive to get the maximum out of them. The last time when somebody like Badri left, it was not the right time for him to leave. He went to Vidarbha and capitalised on two good seasons. The team grew. Somebody with such a wealth of experience should be here, guiding our youngsters."

Ashwin was equally critical in his appraisal of the feeder set-up in place for Tamil Nadu's first-class cricket and the organisation of the tournaments at the lower levels.

"For starters, the place of first division cricket is appalling if I have to be polite," Ashwin said. "The pace is so slow that shot-making is almost impossible. It starts with what kind of wickets we produce. For starters, we play in summer and Ranji Trophy is a winter sport in India.

"Our fast bowlers need some fillip to play cricket. You can't play in slow wickets and ask them to bend their backs day in and day out. We need a cultural shift in terms of honesty. This 'we', I am talking about is administration, team management and senior players."

LOS ANGELES -- The normally laid-back Lou Williams had to be restrained from going after an official before being ejected. Minutes later, Patrick Beverley fouled out and went on to be ejected for jawing with Russell Westbrook.

In the fourth quarter of a hotly contested, back-and-forth game against the Houston Rockets, the LA Clippers unraveled and blew a 15-point halftime lead before dropping a frustrating 122-117 loss at Staples Center on Thursday night.

"We lost our composure as a team," Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. "It's a good learning experience for us."

"I'd rather for it to happen now than in the fourth quarter of a playoff game," Rivers added. "We will see if that is a learning experience. The techs have to be. That is something we can control."

Add this highly competitive, and at times heated, game to the latest chapter of Clippers-Rockets. The rivalry, which at one point in January 2018 saw Rockets players use a back tunnel at Staples Center to get into the Clippers' locker room in an attempt to confront Clippers players, has seen sparks fly in three meetings this season.

During one Rockets win in November in Houston, Austin Rivers egged on officials to eject his father and giddily made a "call me" gesture as the Clippers coach was escorted off the floor.

Then in Los Angeles last month, Westbrook and Beverley had words after the Rockets' star missed a late 3-pointer in a game the Clippers won 122-119. In the immediate aftermath, Westbrook's brother was involved in a verbal altercation with Montrezl Harrell and had to be escorted out of Staples Center.

On Thursday, Beverley fouled out with 2 minutes, 52 seconds left. He and Westbrook then jawed with each other again before the two were assessed double technical fouls. For Beverley, it was his second tech and overall the third time he has fouled out against the Rockets this season. As he walked off the floor, Westbrook waved goodbye to his foe.

Asked about the Clippers' rivalry with the Rockets moving forward, Rivers joked, "Protect the tunnels. If we do that, I think everything is going to be good."

"I don't know what it is ... but it is something there," he said. "There is no doubt about it. So let's keep playing them."

Westbrook scored 40 points and had 10 rebounds, and James Harden had 28 points and 10 assists for the Rockets, who outscored the Clippers 68-48 in the second half.

Paul George had 34 points and nine rebounds, and Kawhi Leonard had 25 points and nine rebounds.

Williams was ejected having scored only six points at the 11:05 mark in the fourth when he argued with lead official Kane Fitzgerald. Despite being restrained by Rivers, Williams persisted in arguing until he was ejected.

"I thought Kane, in his defense, gave us every chance to try to get Lou away," Rivers said. "Lou, it got heated and there was no turning back. That happens. It should never happen in the fourth quarter. No matter what's going on, we just cannot get techs in the fourth quarter, let alone one of our better scorers.

"Even if Lou is right or wrong, to me that is the time to be the bigger man on that one and walk away."

When Beverley fouled out because of a reach with 2:52 left, the Rockets were in the midst of a 17-2 run that finished the Clippers. Still, after Westbrook was assessed the technical, Harden quickly got in front of his All-Star teammate and made sure things didn't escalate.

"It's a dog fight," Rockets coach Mike D'Antoni said. "It's tough. They're a really good [team] and it's a heck of a battle. It's some heavyweights slugging it out. I'm sure the fourth [regular-season matchup] will be the same way, and we'll see what happens."

Williams and Beverley did not speak to reporters in the locker room afterward. George took the blame for the Clippers melting down late, saying he should have done more as a veteran leader.

George and Leonard are new to this Clippers-Rockets rivalry and George says he thinks there needs to be a lot more to make this a true rivalry.

"We ain't won a chip," George said. "Houston ain't won it in forever. It's got to be a little bit more to be a rivalry. We're competing. Both teams are competing. Got to be a little bit more for it to be a rivalry."

The teams meet again on March 5 at Houston.

The Somerset duo of offspinner Dom Bess and medium-pacer Craig Overton have been called up to England's Test squad ahead of the first Test against South Africa - starting on Boxing Day in Centurion - after a bug swept through the touring party, leaving a number of players unwell. The two are expected to reach Johannesburg on Saturday morning.

As reported earlier, England's tour match against South Africa A, which starts today, was downgraded from first-class status because of the ongoing effects of illness in the line-up.

Among those to have fallen ill were Jofra Archer, Stuart Broad and Jack Leach. The ECB said in a statement that the match will be a "three-day friendly match with only 11 players batting or fielding at any point in time".

More to follow…

The wink said it all.

When Giannis Antetokounmpo drilled his career-high fifth 3-pointer Thursday night, it's understandable that he had to give the crowd a little something extra as he retreated back on defense.

As if the home team didn't already give their fans enough in the most anticipated game of the season so far.

Antetokounmpo and the Bucks put on a master class in defensive dominance and offensive excellence and the sold-out Fiserv Forum crowd ate it up in a 111-104 victory. On Thursday night, Milwaukee appeared to be a varsity troupe devouring an awkward, uncoordinated JV team -- except that junior team was home to LeBron James and Anthony Davis, two of the most talented basketball players in the world.

The teams entered the game with 24-4 record, tied for best in the league. Both were coming off losses -- the Bucks lost to the Luka Doncic-less Dallas Mavericks on Monday and the Lakers lost to the Victor Oladipo-less Indiana Pacers on Tuesday. Each teams' stars -- James and Antetokounmpo -- had vowed that their goal was not to drop two games in a row.

The crowd buzzed -- always excited, but only reaching an ear-splitting pitch when Antetokounmpo thundered down a dunk or made a 3. A sprinkling of Lakers faithful dressed in yellow broke up an otherwise sea of Milwaukee fans in forest green Bucks jerseys, hats and sweatshirts. When the Lakers scored, there were enough Los Angeles supporters to make the arena hum slightly.

But this was Milwaukee's night.

The beginning of the second quarter was silly. After a slow start, Milwaukee found its footing and went on a 6-0 run to start. Lakers' coach Frank Vogel quickly called a timeout in an attempt to squash any momentum the Bucks' were building. From there, the game began to teeter on absurdity. Milwaukee erupted, extending its run to 20-7.

By the end of the first half, Milwaukee's dominance had reached absurd levels. The Bucks finished the first half with 10 made 3s and held a 19-point lead at the break. The Lakers whittled Milwaukee's out-of-this-world lead to a manageable eight points by the end of the third.

In the end, Milwaukee would come out on top, catapulting itself to the NBA's best record at 25-4. At least for now.

-- Malika Andrews

Our NBA experts' biggest takeaways

Giannis shows off the range

Antetokounmpo has made a name for himself as a complete the improbable, cross-the-court-from-end-to-end-in-three-steps-and-dunk-on-you type of player. He's uniquely nimble for his 7-foot frame and can handle the ball like a guard.

Antetokounmpo's 3-point shooting, however, has been historically spotty. In the past, opposing teams have purposely tried to run him out to the 3-point line in hopes that would slow down his offensive production.

So when he drilled his career-high fifth 3-pointer Thursday night, Antetokounmpo threw the crowd a wink and appeared to put an imaginary crown atop his head.

"[I'll] keep shooting it. Doesn't matter if I make one, two, five, I just want to be better and keep getting better," Antetokounmpo said after the game. "I've been working on my game and there's gonna be some nights where I make zero, there's gonna be some nights where I make five, but I got to keep shooting because that's what my team wants me to do."

The days of sagging off Antetokounmpo might be over. According to Second Spectrum, the leading MVP candidate is making 45% of his 3-pointers in December when the closest defender is at least six feet away. That is up from 33% in November and 17% in October.

-- Andrews

Lakers bench a nonfactor

Rajon Rondo stood in the right corner early in the third quarter. There was plenty of space between him and the closest defender when he received a pass from James. Rather than launch the open shot, Rondo put the ball on the floor, driving into traffic along the baseline. When the Bucks' defense cut him off, Rondo was unable to muster an attempt before the shot clock expired, ultimately costing L.A. a turnover.

It was a moment that encapsulated the night for Rondo and the Lakers' bench. L.A. reserves, missing Kyle Kuzma for the fifth straight game as he rests a sprained left ankle, were nowhere to be seen in Milwaukee. For a team that has touted its depth this season, Thursday's dearth of production from the second unit was particularly disheartening. The Bucks' bench outscored the Lakers' bench 36-4, with L.A. going just 2-for-9 from the field (0-for-4 from 3) with 10 turnovers (five belonging to Rondo). The Lakers' starters were offered precious little relief on the final night of a five-game trip, with Davis and James forced to play a combined 80 minutes.

-- Dave McMenamin

The Bucks run deep

With Eric Bledsoe (right leg injury) sidelined for the third consecutive game, the Bucks were looking for a spark. Donte DiVincenzo has rightfully earned the starting nod, without Bledsoe, but George Hill was automatic off the bench. The veteran point guard put up 10 of his 21 points and a pair of treys in an opening quarter in which Milwaukee used 11 different players.

Hill's 10 first-quarter points led the team, marking the first time Antetokounmpo wasn't the Bucks' scoring leader after 12 minutes of a game when he was active since the Dec. 6 blowout win against the LA Clippers.

The Bucks won't need Hill to produce at this high level of scoring on a nightly basis, even with Bledsoe out, but he has the potential to be one of their most consistent bench contributors during the playoffs. Hill and Kyle Korver are the only players on the Bucks' roster who've played in the NBA Finals.

Missing Bledsoe isn't necessarily a good thing, but it has given the Bucks a chance to develop increased trust in their bench options. DiVincenzo, Hill, Korver, Pat Connaughton and Ersan Ilyasova have all fulfilled key bench roles. All-Star swingman Khris Middleton also missed seven games in November because of a left thigh bruise. The Bucks won them as part of an 18-game win streak, and the experience those players earned with increased roles will be invaluable as the season progresses.

"With Khris going out at the start, I got all the starting jitters out so when [Bledsoe] went down, it's kind of easy to step into that role and I know what I need to do," DiVincenzo said Thursday at shootaround.

-- Eric Woodyard

Still the NBA's best

The new-look, big, physical Lakers played well on defense; they held Milwaukee to just 34 points in the paint (they average 52.8). Antetokounmpo, who leads the league by averaging 18.9 points in the paint, had only 10 in that key area. Normally, that would spell trouble for the Bucks, but they won the 3-point battle thanks in large part to a career-best long-range shooting night from their MVP.

The Bucks also looked good on defense. Wesley Matthews drew the LeBron assignment and he did well. The Lakers scored only 36 points on the 46 possessions when Matthews guarded James.

But here's my second takeaway. Do the Lakers have enough?

Led by Hill, who scored 21 points on only 12 shots, the Bucks' bench torched the Lakers' bench 34-4, and if Thursday night raised any real questions about either team, it's this: Are the Lakers deep enough to win it all?

-- Kirk Goldsberry

LOS ANGELES -- Russell Westbrook just knew something was up with the rim at Staples Center.

The basket seemed too low. The backboard seemed a little off. So he stopped the game and asked them to measure. A stadium worker climbed up a ladder, took out a level, snapped a picture and pronounced everything was in order.

"It was lopsided," Westbrook said. "At least I thought. But it don't matter."

But whatever didn't show up on that level, certainly showed up in Westbrook's performance. Because Westbrook caught fire in the second half, scoring 25 of his game-high 40 points to lead the Houston Rockets to a comeback 122-117 win over the LA Clippers Thursday night at Staples Center.

In the latest contentious game between the Clippers and Rockets -this time Lou Williams and Patrick Beverley were ejected for arguing calls with the officials - Westbrook continued to look more and more comfortable orbiting alongside the offensive comet that is James Harden.

"Russ was Russ. He had that attack mentality," Clippers small forward Paul George said. "I almost thought he was ultra-aggressive with Harden struggling. He made some big shots, some big 3s. He was just timely. I thought Russ changed the game, playing with his tempo and his speed."

Westbrook led Houston's second straight double-digit comeback by blitzing through and past LA's normally stout defense. Houston outscored LA 36-18 in the third quarter alone, keyed by a 14-2 run in which all seven field goals were scored in the paint.

The Rockets rallied from a 25-point deficit Monday night at home against the San Antonio Spurs. They trailed by as many as 17 against the Clippers.

LA was in total control in the first half and led the Rockets 77-61 with 9:03 left in the third quarter. But in the last 21 minutes of the game, Westbrook and Harden outscored the entire LA team 43-40.

The Clippers rallied to take the lead back in the fourth quarter after trailing by as many as a dozen points; Paul George blocked a Westbrook layup with 5:10 to play and Kawhi Leonard hit a jumper over PJ Tucker to put the Clippers up 111-105. LA blew a double-digit first-half lead against the Rockets only to come back from a double-digit second-half deficit to win at home in November.

But Houston would not be denied this time, finishing the game on a 15-4 run to close out a game that featured 14 lead changes and seven ties.

It was the latest chapter in the festering rivalry between the two teams, which feature four of the Los Angeles area's native sons. Paul George, Kawhi Leonard, Russell Westbrook and James Harden each grew up in Los Angeles at a time when Kobe Bryant was snarling over the NBA. Each boy studying his moves and his swagger, determined to play like him one day - no matter how far away that seemed from their hometowns Palmdale (George), Moreno Valley (Leonard), Lawndale (Westbrook) and Artesia (Harden).

"This is deeper than basketball," George said. "We're all SoCal kids.

We've got a bunch a games under our belts, whether it's pickups or league games. It's always fun whenever we can match up against each other."

Russell Westbrook (Leuzinger)

Westbrook was the most unheralded of the four, famously not even making the varsity team at Leuzinger High in Lawndale until his junior year. But he's clearly starting to find his stride in Houston after an up and down start.

George knows his game well from the two seasons he played alongside him with the Oklahoma City Thunder, which ended with both men being traded this summer.

When Westbrook is rolling, George said, it looks like he's playing with his hair on fire.

"That's how Russ plays," George said. "Russ is aggressive from start to finish. He pushed the tempo and he changed the game with how he started the third [quarter]."

The last time Houston came through Los Angeles was something of a referendum on Westbrook's failings as a shooter and responsible playmaker, as the Clippers trapped Harden relentlessly and forced the ball out of his hands.

But the Rockets don't need Westbrook to be a deadly shooter. They just need him playing downhill, slashing to the basket for the type of angry layups he's made a career off of. Thursday night, Westbrook scored 18 points in the paint and hit 12 of his 13 free throw attempts, which is also something of a turnaround for him. Westbrook has made 90.2% of his free throws in December after making only 72.2% in November.

James Harden (Artesia)

Harden, who played for the same Pump & Run AAU team in 2006 that George played for in 2007, finished with 28 points on 8-of-16 shooting. Most of that came in the second half after Patrick Beverley thoroughly frustrated him in the first half.

Harden had his second lowest scoring output of the season in the first half, making just 1-2 shots and turning the ball over 3 times with Beverley as his primary defender. Once Westbrook got going in the second half however, Harden had room to operate.

Kawhi Leonard (King)

Leonard had 25 points, 9 rebounds, and a steal. It looked like Leonard would be the top performer early, as he was the first player in the game to reach double figures. Leonard's 11 first quarter points led everyone, as he alternated 3s with dribble-heavy isolation midrangers.

But Leonard had four turnovers and only two made field goals in the second half with PJ Tucker stepping up his defense on him.

"We didn't have any pace, really," Leonard said of the second half downturn. "Just coming down, one dribble shots, we didn't really run the offense. Just very slow."

Paul George (Knight)

On any other night, George would've been the star of the game. He hit 6-of-12 3-pointers, including back to back 3s in the fourth quarter to give the Clippers a 109-105 lead. On the next possession George chased down Westbrook on a drive to the basket, blocked his layup, then fed the ball ahead to Leonard who hit an 18-foot pull-up.

That's when Harden got going, scoring 10 points in the final 4:48 while the Clippers lost their composure, committing two costly turnovers and watched Beverley get ejected.

George finished with 34 points on 12-of-23 shooting, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks. George is now at 41% from three and 91.7% free throws for the season, which would be career highs.

Three World Cups and 10 Six Nations have passed, but does any of it mean a thing if you're not selected in a team of the decade?

South Africa started the decade as world champions and end it with the Webb Ellis Cup in their possession, with a couple of New Zealand wins in between of course.

Which of those world champions will make it into your team though?

BBC Radio 5 Live Rugby Union Weekly's Chris Jones, Ugo Monye and Danny Care have come up with a shortlist for you to pick from and will reveal their final decision on Monday's podcast.

Can't see this selector? Visit this page.

All pictures via Getty Images.

South Africa's plans for the first Test against England have been hit by an injury to Temba Bavuma, who has picked up a Grade 1 hip flexor muscle strain, scans have revealed.

Bavuma, the 29-year-old batsman, will remain with the squad and begin his rehabilitation programme with the team's medical staff "with the goal of returning to play within seven to ten days", Shuaib Manjra, Cricket South Africa's chief medical officer, said in a statement.

"A decision on a possible replacement will be made at the conclusion of the South Africa A and CSA Franchise Four-Day matches that are taking place this weekend," a CSA statement said.

Bavuma, 39 Tests old, is one of the most experienced players in the 17-man squad, which features six uncapped players.

The four-Test series against England - at No. 5 on the World Test Championship table, while South Africa are bottom - will be the first assignment for South Africa's revamped coaching staff.

Since Graeme Smith took charge as director of cricket on an initial three-month stint, Mark Boucher has taken over as the head coach, while Jacques Kallis and Charl Langeveldt have slotted in as batting and bowling consultant respectively.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Cornerback A.J. Bouye had one immediate thought when he walked into the Jacksonville Jaguars locker room on Thursday morning: Uh-oh.

Bouye said he thought he was going to miss the start of the team meeting and his gut clenched for a second, only to realize he had plenty of time to make the meeting. Five more minutes, to be exact.

One of the first things the Jaguars' equipment staff had done Thursday was to turn all the clocks in the facility ahead five minutes. One of the first things executive vice president of football operations Tom Coughlin did when he arrived in 2017 was move them back five minutes, but after his Wednesday night firing, the team quickly made the change, returning the clocks to the actual time.

"That's the first thing I noticed when I got in here," Bouye said. "I thought that I was late for meetings. I look up and I had an extra five minutes so I was good."

The time change was the most noticeable difference in the franchise on the first day of the post-Coughlin era. Nobody moved a pingpong table back into the locker room. There were no video game consoles or televisions tuned to news or sports channels.

No players celebrating, or any critical comments to the media about Coughlin's fines, or the NFLPA's letter that warned impending free agents about signing with the Jaguars. Just a normal Thursday, defensive tackle Abry Jones said ... with an additional five minutes from last Thursday.

"I noticed the clocks," Jones said. "It threw me off when I first got here. I thought I was I was late. That's probably the strongest adjustment we're going to probably have to get used to -- resetting back to five minutes back.

"Other than that, no real big difference."

Coughlin changed the clocks because his philosophy is: If you're not five minutes early to a meeting or commitment, you're considered late. It's one of the ways he emphasizes accountability. Another way he does that is by fining players for rules infractions, including for missing doctor and rehabilitation appointments during the offseason.

That, however, is prohibited by the NFLPA, which released a letter Monday that said former player Dante Fowler won a grievance against the Jaguars after being fined 25 times for more than $700,000. The letter also noted that more than 25 percent of the grievances filed by NFL players the past two years have been against the Jaguars, and "you, as players may want to consider this when you have a chance to select your next club."

That letter pushed owner Shad Khan to fire Coughlin Wednesday night instead of after the season.

Running back Leonard Fournette was another player who won a grievance against the Jaguars. Coughlin fined Fournette and running back T.J. Yeldon a game check for what he called their "unprofessional behavior" on the bench in the 2018 finale. However, Fournette was inactive for the game because of an injury. He appealed the fine of $99,948.88, the equivalent of one week's pay. Fournette, who said he got back his money within two months, laughs about it now.

"Two days later [after the game] when T.J. called me, he's like, 'Man, what the hell? I got fined $100,000,' " Fournette said. "I'm like, 'S---, I don't know what to tell you.' Then the email came to me and I called him back. I'm like, 'I got fined 100 grand!'

"Our biggest thing was trying to get our money back, of course. It worked out fine."

Fournette said Thursday that despite that incident, he has a good relationship with Coughlin.

"It got better; especially this year, after the talk we had about getting the money back and things like that," Fournette said. "He was kind of openly coming to me and telling me if I have a problem, or anything, always come to my office and knock on my door and we're going to talk."

Defensive end Calais Campbell is the team's union representative, so he has heard plenty of complaints about Coughlin's fines from his teammates. He has told players to file a grievance and acted as an anger-management counselor, of sorts, as well.

Campbell said although he doesn't agree with Coughlin's methods, he does understand his motive.

"Most of the issues are probably trying to create a winning culture through methods of holding people accountable," Campbell said. "I liked him a lot, and as a person. The way his methods are, everybody has different opinions on, but for myself, I understood them. I knew his end goal was to win and that right there was enough for me.

"I didn't agree with everything, but I never agree [with everybody]. At the end of day, though, what's important to me, is trying to win and making an effort to win on a daily basis. That's one thing you can say: He put a lot of effort into trying to win."

That didn't work, either. The Jaguars are 10-20 since they reached the AFC Championship Game after the 2017 season, and that's a significant part of why Coughlin is no longer employed.

And why the clocks are now correct inside TIAA Bank Field.

MILWAUKEE -- After knocking down a career-best five 3-pointers Thursday night to help take down the Los Angeles Lakers 111-104 and lead the Bucks to the NBA's best record at 25-4, Giannis Antetokounmpo didn't bask in glory.

The reigning MVP dressed quickly and then darted to the kids' room of Fiserv Forum for a family meeting with brothers Thanasis, Kostas and Alex -- plus their mom and Giannis' pregnant girlfriend -- almost forgetting his media obligations, before reflecting on the moment.

"I think the most important thing is to try to stay humble. When you win MVP and you win 60 games, it's hard," Antetokounmpo explained in the arena hallway after his 34-point, 11-rebound, 7-assist performance. "You feel like, 'OK, what else?' But at the end of the day, I realize and my family realizes that I'm not supposed to be here."

"I wasn't the No. 1 pick. [Anthony Davis] was. LeBron [James] was. I wasn't supposed to be here," he continued. "I'm not supposed to go against these two beasts, so I'm just happy that I'm here and happy that I'm going through the process, and I always want to be better, do better for my team, and that's what gives me joy."

Including his 5-of-8 performance from beyond the arc Thursday night, Antetokounmpo is 13-for-23 from 27-plus feet in eight games this month after going 13-for-59 in his previous 92 games since the start of last season, per ESPN Stats & Information research.

Antetokounmpo is shooting 44% on 3-pointers in December. He shot 29% on 3s in October and November.

All five of Antetokounmpo's 3s came from 27-plus feet, the most 27-footers in a game by a Bucks player over the past 20 seasons. He winked after drilling his final trey near the left wing at 9 minutes, 7 seconds in the fourth quarter.

"I'm going to keep shooting. It doesn't matter for me if I made one, two or five, I just want to be better," Antetokounmpo said. "And I want to keep getting better and keep working on my game, and it's going to be some nights that I'm going to make zero and it'll be nights I'll make five, but I've got to keep shooting because that's what my team wants me to do."

Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer lauded Antetokounmpo as "very rare, very special" after his latest performance for his 3-point improvement, even after winning MVP.

"I think a lot of players keep working, keep getting better, and it's part of our league, part of being a professional," Budenholzer said. "But what Giannis does in the summer, the amount of time he puts in before practices, after practices, taking care of his body -- but I think everybody, as special as he was last year, I think even opponents and his peers, I think, see and know that he can get better. He's doing it. He's putting the time and effort in, and we just feel fortunate he's ours and excited about him and our future."

Davis ended with 36 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists to lead the Lakers. However, on defense, Antetokounmpo scored 14 points with Davis as the nearest defender, the second-most points Davis has allowed as the nearest defender in a game this season.

Even with that, Antetokounmpo is keyed in on improving, and his latest 3-point-shooting display was all of his hard work coming to fruition.

"Winning games, that's one, but improving and seeing the result at the end of the day. All the shots I made today, I've made these shots like four or five years ago, so seeing them going in tonight, that gives me joy," Antetokounmpo said. "That makes me want to work on other parts of my game, and I can make those shots three years from now. That's what fills me up with joy."

MILWAUKEE -- The Los Angeles Lakers made it 29 games before losing consecutive games this season, with Thursday's 111-104 defeat at the hands of the Milwaukee Bucks coming on the heels of a loss to the Indiana Pacers earlier in the week.

Now they are vowing to go another 53 games -- the remainder of the regular season -- without letting it happen again.

"We're resilient. We're going to find ways to win," said Anthony Davis, after he played the entire second half on a sore right ankle, attempting to bring L.A. back from a 21-point deficit. "We're going to keep battling. That's our mindset all year. Even though we did lose two in a row, our mindset is still, let's not lose two in a row. Let's not drop another after we lose one, learn from the first one and do what we can to make sure the next one we come out with a victory."

The Pacers loss came with Davis on the sidelines because of his ankle. The Bucks loss was the final road game on a brutal stretch of the schedule that saw the Lakers play 12 out of 15 games away from Staples Center.

The Lakers might have lost their first-place showdown with a Milwaukee team that came into the night with an identical 24-4 record, and failed their quest to go all 82 games without back-to-back losses in the process, but their team was still able to take positives away from what that aspiration meant to their group.

"You want to make goals along the process, along the way, along the marathon," said LeBron James. "And for us to play exceptional basketball for the majority of this part of the season, it's commitment of focus, it's a commitment of what we're trying to do, continue to get better and just be laser sharp for a majority of the process so far. So we're just going to try to continue that."

It wasn't all a loss for James, who registered his seventh triple-double of the season with 21 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists. In playing 37 minutes, he passed Kobe Bryant's 57,278 minutes total for third place in all-time minutes played list (regular season and playoffs combined), leaving only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Karl Malone ahead of him.

He also passed Gary Payton's career total of 8,966 assists to move up to ninth on the all-time list.

"He's breaking all type of records," said Rajon Rondo. "Seems like every other game it's a new thing he's doing. It's not like the same (records). It's not just all points. There's so many things he's able to do throughout the entire game of basketball. It's really amazing what he's able to accomplish and still continue to play at a high level. It doesn't look like he's going to slow down in the next three or four years either. We'll be talking about him breaking records until he's done playing."

And the Lakers hope they can get back to stringing wins together without letting consecutive opponents break them.

"Just because it happened this one time doesn't mean that we can't keep it going the rest of the season," said Danny Green. "Obviously facing two tough teams, but it doesn't mean that we can just forget about it and think that it's OK to continue to lose two in a row. From here on out we want to continue to get back in the winning column, get a win streak and not lose two in a row ever again. And hopefully we're playing our best basketball going into April, May and June."