The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Milwaukee Bucks 123-112 on Wednesday night, handing the Bucks an eighth straight defeat and a 1-11 record that matches the worst start in franchise history.

Luka Doncic led the winners with 32 points in 32 minutes at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, shooting 10 of 25 from the field, as the Lakers won a seventh straight game to improve to 11-2 and stay top of the Western Conference.

Bucks match worst start in franchise history

The defeat leaves Milwaukee at 1-11, matching the worst start in the club's history. The only other Bucks side to begin a season 1-11 was the 1974-75 team, which went on to end November at 6-14. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar missed the first 16 games of that season through injury.

This is the first season the Bucks are playing after trading Giannis Antetokounmpo, and the rebuild has so far produced only one win in 12 games. Milwaukee were led by guard Tyler Herro, who returned from a one-game absence caused by a right knee bruise to score 27 points in 24 minutes on 8-of-16 shooting. Jaime Jaquez Jr added 25 points off the bench.

Bucks rookie Nate Ament made his first career start and produced a highlight dunk, but Milwaukee could not contain the league's most explosive offence. The Lakers scored 28 points off 19 Bucks turnovers while the regulars were in the game, and added 32 points off 19 offensive rebounds.

Lakers keep rolling behind Doncic

Doncic, described by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel as the MVP front-runner, again set the tone for a Lakers side that has now won seven in a row. Los Angeles pulled clear through the middle quarters and held off a late rally from Milwaukee's reserves, with the game-closing group of Gary Trent Jr, Ousmane Dieng, Kasparas Jakučionis, Bogoljub Marković and Pete Nance cutting the deficit to eight points with 29 seconds left.

The win underlines how far the two clubs have travelled in opposite directions this season. The Lakers, at 11-2, look every inch a contender in the West, while the Bucks are searching for answers after a start that has already entered the franchise record books for the wrong reasons.

What next for Milwaukee

Milwaukee's task now is to stop the slide before it defines their season. Eight straight defeats, a 1-11 record and a roster still adjusting to life without Antetokounmpo leave little margin for error, and the Bucks need wins quickly to keep their campaign from slipping away before Christmas. Read the full report from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.