The Houston Rockets defeated league-leading Milwaukee Bucks, 120-116 tonight, to post their second win in the Orlando bubble.
The main reason why Rockets won, were forced turnovers, with the Bucks having 22. Some of them were in the last three minutes, once Houston responded to Milwaukee’s 7-0 run, which lifted the Bucks to a 112-104.
Boys from Texas were even better, as they delivered nine unanswered points, before the game entered in hit-by-hit mode from each side. Bucks had a one-point edge, 116-115, with 16.5 seconds, but the unstoppable Russell Westbrook sunk both of his free throws to make it 116-115. In the very next attack, Danuel House stole the ball from Giannis and was fouled instantly, scoring both of his shots from the lane.
Middleton would miss two threes on the next possession, and the Rockets secured a big victory.
It is a well-deserved win for the fourth team in the West, as they controlled the match throughout the majority of the game. Milwaukee would start this contest well, create a 21-9 lead before Houston took over. They were constantly behind up until the end of the third afterward.
Giannis had 36 points, 18 boards, and 8 dimes, shooting 14-for-25 from the field, and that made him the first player in the league since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to have 30+ points, 15+ boards, and 5+ assists in at least 15 games during one season.
Middleton also had a double-double with 27 points, 12 boards, and four assists, while Brook Lopez scored 23 and 12 rebounds, six offensive. These three guys were the only with double digits in their scoring columns.
[embed]https://twitter.com/NBAonTNT/status/1290130193357520896?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw[/embed]On the other side, the Rockets played with 8 guys in the rotation. The entire starting lineup was over 10 points. Westbrook had 31 with 8 assists and 6 rebounds. The former MVP was 10-for-21 from the field and 10-for-12 from the free-throw line.
James Harden had a slow performance for his standards, delivering just 24 points with seven assists and six boards, but he had 6 steals as well. He, too was busy with the free throws, making 11 in 13 attempts. House had 16 buckets, Covington 15 and Tucker 11.
The Rockets had 61 attempts for three, and that tied the NBA record for most during the regular part of the game. Eventually, they made just 21.
Right now, Houston is 42-24 and sits fourth in the West, while Milwaukee needs one win to clinch the No.1 place in the East, 54-13.
Up next, we have these two teams hitting the court on Tuesday, as the Bucks meet Brooklyn and the Rockets face the Trail Blazers.