LOS ANGELES -- Raucous chats of "Bronny! Bronny!" have been a regular occurrence late in Lakers home games, as the crowds at Crypto.com Arena pine to see rookie Bronny James play in garbage time.

Lakers coach JJ Redick -- with nearly half his roster out because of injuries as Los Angeles completed its sixth game in eight days -- didn't need any cajoling from the fans to put James in during the Lakers' 118-89 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday.

Rather than cheering James on as a sideshow, the Lakers guard took center stage, going one-on-one against two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo in the first half.

Dribbling the ball beyond the arc with Antetokounmpo guarding him in front of the Lakers bench where his father, LeBron James, sat in street clothes, Bronny James crossed over left to right behind his back and then back right to left on the Bucks star as "oohs" and "ahhs" filled the arena.

The play finished with James losing the ball out of bounds -- but only after he had driven into the paint past Antetokounmpo, with the Bucks star grabbing him and no whistle from the referee.

"He's a much bigger guy than me," the 6-foot-3 James said of the 6-11 Antetokounmpo. "So I just got to find a way to get around him somehow. May have got fouled. That's up for argument, but it is what it is.

"I tried to get me a bucket."

That sequence might have resulted in a turnover, but he turned the playing opportunity into a career night, scoring a season-high 17 points on 7-for-10 shooting and adding five assists, three rebounds and a block in 30 minutes of playing time.

"Not surprised by tonight," Redick said of James. "I think his confidence is growing. ... I think the next step is just becoming an elite-conditioned athlete. Because when [he] does that, with his physical tools and his burst and his handle -- and we think he's going to be an above-average to really good NBA shooter -- he's going to have a chance to really make an impact."

Selected with the No. 55 pick after a lone season at USC, James' rookie season up until Thursday didn't include many highlights. He averaged 1.6 points on 26.3% shooting (22.7% from 3) in 4.7 minutes per game through 21 appearances before Thursday.

He fared much better for the South Bay Lakers, L.A.'s G League affiliate, however. With South Bay, he has averaged 20.6 points on 43.1% shooting (36.1% from 3), 5.0 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.8 steals in 33.5 minutes per game across nine contests.

Despite that production -- significant given his age (20) and draft position -- he has been a lightning rod for criticism.

"I've just been impressed with the person that he is," Redick said. "And to deal with ... frankly, bulls--- because of who his dad is and just keep a level head about it and be a class act says a lot about him, says a lot about that family. And the way LeBron and Savannah have raised him was obvious to me from the moment I started spending time with him on the court this summer. He was certainly going to be an NBA player, and I still believe that he'll be an NBA player."

Bronny James said Redick and the rest of the coaching staff's faith in him has helped him settle at the pro level after his collegiate career was compromised when he suffered a cardiac arrest.

"Just all the coaches believing in me and continue to put that in my head that they believe in me and what I can do as a player," James said. "I was given an opportunity tonight to go show them what I've been working on while I've been sitting on the bench, in the G League getting reps, stuff like that. Just constantly putting that in my head that they believe in me and that I can contribute."

With a year and a half passed since the heart incident, James said he is beginning to trust his body more, too.

"I feel like it's all coming back," he said. "Just being out for that long, stuff that I had to go through, wind-wise and lung-wise ... I think I've been getting more comfortable as I get the reps under me and get the games under me and practices and learning from the bench and stuff like that. And I feel like it's good for me."

James said he has focused on the "controllables" by consistently working as hard as he can to shield himself from the outside scrutiny that comes with being the son of the league's all-time leading scorer.

And he will continue with the same approach, now that he has a little more to show for that work after his performance against the Bucks.

"Going in the gym tomorrow, ready to work as hard as I did yesterday," he said. "Same approach for every day with my job."