MILWAUKEE -- On the final night of a five-game road swing, the Los Angeles Lakers played their best basketball of the season for three full quarters.

The fourth, though, wasn't quite so sharp, but the Lakers managed to withstand a furious comeback attempt down the stretch and hold off the Milwaukee Bucks for a 122-114 victory at the Bradley Center.

"Our work from practice carried over," said Julius Randle, who had 15 points and seven rebounds. "After getting our butts kicked in Detroit, not showing up ... (we came in) and blew it out tonight."

Nick Young scored 26 points and Lou Williams added 21 for the Lakers (19-37), who shot 52 percent from the floor and went 15 of 30 from beyond the arc, which proved to be a crucial difference as Milwaukee (22-30) hit just 8 of 28 attempts.

Shooting came easy for the Lakers, who raced out of the gate and scored 47 points on 82 percent shooting from the floor in the first quarter led by Young, who made all four shots, including two 3-pointers.

"We trusted each other and we made the extra pass," Lakers coach Luke Walton said. "We were attacking, we weren't settling. Nick was hot tonight and even with that, he was instead of just settling for the 3, getting into the paint and then making the extra pass when the defense collapsed."

Making matters worse for Milwaukee, the Bucks twice fouled Young on 3-pointers, leading to two four-point plays.

"I was thinking, OK, this is one of them nights," Young said. "Let's do it."

And the Lakers did, at least for the next two quarters. They went into halftime up 11 and stretched the lead to 27 when Young sank a fadeaway 3-pointer with 10:10 left in the third quarter.

It was a 19-point game through three and Walton turned to his bench to start the fourth.

But that's when the wheels started to come off.

Milwaukee opened the quarter on a 14-2 run, making it a seven-point game after Malcolm Brogdon converted a three-point play of his own with 6:59 remaining.

Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 10 of his career-high 41 in the fourth quarter and Milwaukee got within five with 59 seconds to play but couldn't find a way to close the gap.

"We've given up some big first quarters and found ourselves in a hole, but we keep fighting," Bucks coach Jason Kidd said. "We found ourselves in a game there at the end."

The Bucks' poor defensive effort and 3-point woes spoiled an otherwise strong offensive night. Antetokounmpo led the way, hitting 11 of 20 shots from the field and 18 of 21 free throws as Milwaukee shot 52.6 percent from the floor and 26 of 31 from the line.

"Obviously, it was a bad start," Antetokounmpo said. "I don't know what's going on. (Monroe) said at halftime that we have to play mad. We start the game and we're acting like we are the favorites. We're not. We've to play harder. We're not the favorite."

Milwaukee, playing its first game since Jabari Parker suffered a season-ending torn ACL, has lost 12 of its last 14 games.

"I love playing the game, but at the end of the day you just want to win, especially a team like the Lakers," Antetokounmpo said. "They aren't a playoff team right now. They are struggling. They are young. We've got to get those games.

"Games like this, they are the worst team in the West. Those games, you've got to come and take them."

The Bucks weren't quite done, though, as a running layup from Greg Monroe made it a five-point game with under a minute to play.

NOTES: Thon Maker joined the lineup in place of Jabari Parker, who was lost for the season when he tore his left ACL in Milwaukee's loss to Miami on Wednesday night. It was the third career start for Maker, who has appeared in 26 games and averaged 2.9 points and 1.2 rebounds in 5.7 minutes. ... Khris Middleton played 20 minutes off the bench and scored six points in his second game back after suffering a preseason hamstring injury. He will not join the Bucks on Saturday in Indianapolis. ... Bucks C Roy Hibbert was inactive, but C Spencer Hawes suited up for the first time since both players were acquired last week from Charlotte. ... Lakers G Jordan Clarkson suffered a sprained right thumb on Wednesday night at Detroit and was listed as questionable but scored 11 points in 21 minutes.