Despite a 37-point, eight-rebound game from Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kevin Durant and the Houston Rockets got the better of the Milwaukee Bucks on their front end of a back-to-back. After having nine points at halftime, Durant finished with 31 points to lead Houston, while Alperen Sengun had 23 points, 11 rebounds, and seven assists.
Game Recap
Much like their game on Friday against the Bulls, the Bucks got off to a slow start, falling behind 9-3 early, thanks to a perfect 3/3 opening display
from Durant. After a timeout from Doc Rivers, Myles Turner got things going. Turner scored seven straight from each level of the court with a three, a layup, and a mid-range jumper. That run seemed to spark the Bucks, as they were able to tie the game with 5:22 to go in the quarter. Both teams experienced a scoring drought, with neither team scoring for nearly two minutes of game time. It took a Bobby Portis free throw to break the drought. Kyle Kuzma went into cruise control, hitting a three-pointer and a spinning layup in the lane to put the Bucks up by two with 52 seconds left. Cole Anthony hit a floater to put Milwaukee up by four, but a KD jumper with nine seconds left cut the Bucks’ lead down to two points, 30-28, heading into the second quarter.
The Bucks began the second on a 7-0 run: Giannis threw down two dunks, including an alley-oop from Anthony. Milwaukee continued to pour it on after that, getting their first double-digit lead of the game after Anthony hit a corner three in transition. The lead hit 14 points, but second-year guard Reed Sheppard scored five points on back-to-back possessions to cut the lead down to nine with 5:11 to go before halftime, then continued tormenting the Bucks with another three to bring the game within six. It was all part of a 10-0 by Houston, punctuated by an Amen Thompson layup off a feed from Sengun. After Turner and Jabari Smith Jr. traded layups, the Bucks led 56-50 with 1:28 to go. After that, the Bucks went on a quick 5-0 burst, thanks to a dunk from Giannis and a Kuzma three over Durant. Those two buckets sent Milwaukee up 61-50, heading into the locker room.
Both teams started off the third quarter trading buckets, thanks to Durant getting into a rhythm after being held scoreless in the second quarter. The former MVP scored seven of the first 10 for Houston, trimming the Bucks’ lead down to five. Milwaukee responded with their own MVP in Giannis, who scored 12 of the next 14 points. That run kept the Rockets at bay, down eight with 4:28 left on the clock. Kuzma came in at that stoppage and did a tremendous job defending Durant, forcing KD to go 1/4 from the floor. Because of his efforts, the Bucks were able to keep their lead near double-figures. Despite that, Durant still scored 15 points on 5/8 shooting from the floor, as he nearly single-handedly brought the Rockets within three, 85-82, heading into the fourth quarter.
The two-man game of Giannis and Anthony was working well to start out the fourth, with the pair scoring seven of the Bucks’ first 10 points. While that grew the lead to seven, Sheppard caught fire again to cut it to two, forcing a Bucks timeout. AJ Green finally got his first points of the night on a three, and after dunks from Giannis and Portis, the Bucks were back up by seven with 7:07 left. The Rockets started to creep back into the game once again, going 4/5 from the free-throw line, and then a wide-open layup from Sengun got them within one with 3:59 to go. The Bucks needed a shot, and they got one from Rollins, draining a three to give the Bucks a little bit of breathing room. It didn’t last long, as a KD and-1 jumper and a Smith three gave the Rockets their first lead since the first quarter at 113-111. A Rollins layup briefly tied the game again, but a patented KD jumper gave it right back. Down two, Giannis missed two free throws with 1:29 left, and Houston scored on the next possession. Giannis then went 1/2 at the line to make it a three-point game, but Sengun then made a spinning layup and completed the and-1. That sequence doubled the Rockets’ lead with 23.4 seconds left on the clock.
Stat That Stood Out
22-7. That was the run the Rockets went on in the final four minutes and 49 seconds to seal the win. The Bucks shot 2/6 from the field, 2/6 from the free-throw line (all Giannis), and turned the ball over twice in the final minute.
