I recommend using the awesome requests library:
import requests
url="http://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/directions/json"
params = dict(
origin='Chicago,IL',
destination='Los+Angeles,CA',
waypoints="Joplin,MO|Oklahoma+City,OK",
sensor="false"
)
resp = requests.get(url=url, params=params)
data = resp.json() # Check the JSON Response Content documentation below
JSON Response Content: https://requests.readthedocs.io/en/master/user/quickstart/#json-response-content