© Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
A slow start proved costly as the Milwaukee Bucks lost to the Houston Rockets
The Milwaukee Bucks couldn’t recover from a slow start as they ended their three-game road trip with a 108-112 loss to the Houston Rockets on Saturday night. Milwaukee finished the road trip 1-2. It dropped to 25-11 in the season but remained in second place in the Eastern Conference.
Giannis failed to get enough support
Giannis Antetokounmpo had a solid outing but didn’t get enough support from his teammates. He finished with 48 points, 17 rebounds, two assists, and a block, but only two other Bucks managed to score in double figures.
Damian Lillard scored 18 points but just shot 5-for-16 from the field. Khris Middleton tallied 10 markers but was only 3-of-9 from the field, including a 0-for-5 clip from three-point range.
Houston, on the other hand, had a balanced scoring, with seven players scoring in double figures. Alperen Sengun collected 21 points, 11 rebounds, and four assists, Jalen Green and Jeff Green each 16 points, while Jabari Smith Jr. and Fred VanVleet added 14 apiece.
Cam Whitmore chipped in 12 points, and Aaron Holiday had 11 markers as the Rockets avenged their 119-128 loss to the Bucks in their first meeting on December 17th. The Rockets improved to 18-16.
A slow start proved costly
Milwaukee got off to a poor start, with only Antetokounmpo producing in the first period. Giannis went 4-of-4 from the field in the opening period, but the rest of the Bucks went 3-of-14.
A 13-0 run to end the first quarter gave the Rockets a 29-18 lead. Houston went on to lead by as many as 21 points in the second period before ending the first half with a 63-43 lead.
Milwaukee made some runs in the endgame, but the rally came a bit late as Jeff Green and VanVleet made four free throws in the final 23 seconds that kept the Bucks at bay.
