Rapid Recap: Bucks 123, Rockets 114

Coming in with seven straight wins, the Houston Rockets were feeling swell given their sour start, but Giannis Antetokounmpo willed the Milwaukee Bucks to victory punctuated by a powerful fourth that won them this one 123-114. This final exclamation mark was particularly exhilarating, and a tad reminiscent of a July evening in Phoenix…

Milwaukee clamped down late around the rim, the Rockets cooled off a tad and timely second chance points brought them their first victory on this four game road trip. They have an early tip against the Knicks Sunday morning.

NBA.com Box Score

Milwaukee pushed themselves ahead, 26-23, after the first behind an aggressive period from Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Bucks star continued to dominate the paint, but the Rockets nearly 50% slinging from deep gave them a 65-58 advantage heading into halftime. They narrowed it ever so slightly by the fourth, down 95-90 as the resilient Rockets kept giving it their all. Giannis finished off the night with 41 points (on 15-19), 17 boards, five assists, three steals and two blocks. It was a masterclass that helped the Bucks outscore the Rockets by 14 in the final period.

Stat That Stood Out

From a career standpoint, Giannis’s two blocks pushed him into first place in Bucks history among the all-time blocks leaders, a historic moment that’s sure to be followed by many more milestones passed should the Greek Freak stick around. Also, please stick around.

From firmly a single game standpoint, Milwaukee weathered yet another high volume 3-point game from an opponent (Houston took 47% of shots from deep, 46 overall) on 41% shooting, partially through a 38% night of their own, but also by pummeling the Rockets inside with 21-28 shooting at the rim, per Cleaning The Glass. They needed both areas to stop this Houston team’s winning spree.

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