Rockets Stay in Win Column, Beat Bucks on Reed Sheppard's Special Night

The Houston Rockets faced an injury decimated Milwaukee Bucks team in the second of a back-to-back at home, and survived at the end in a 119-113 win at Toyota Center on Wednesday night. That makes it four straight wins for the Rockets, who continue to gain momentum. Houston has also swept the season series against Milwaukee for the first time since 2018.

The Rockets improve to 47-29 and take a temporary half game lead over the Minnesota Timberwolves for fifth in the Western Conference. Houston rocked its dunkstronaut uniforms again and shot 47% from the field and 43% (17/40). The Rockets were also 19/22 from the free-throw line.

Reed Sheppard, back in the starting lineup, was the leading scorer in this one with 27 points, four rebounds, six assists and two steals. it was his 3-point shooting that ultimately proved the difference. Sheppard was on another planet from three, and went a ridiculous career high 9/14 (64%) from beyond the arc. The average distance on his makes was 28 feet.

Alperen Sengun added 25 points and eight rebounds on 9/13 shooting while the entire starting lineup was in double digits. Kevin Durant put up 19 points, but was effective as a facilitator with nine assists.

The Bucks were decimated with injuries in this one, but still had three players put up career highs. Milwaukee ended up out-rebounding Houston, but the Rockets only had seven turnovers. The Rockets also got 18 points off the turnovers as well dominating 14-0 in the fast-break.

Game Recap

Apr 1, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Rockets guard Josh Okogie (20) dunks the ball during the second quarter against the Milwaukee Bucks at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

It was back and forth early with Durant involved out of the gate. Sheppard made back-to-back threes that gave the Rockets some cushion. Tari Eason and Aaron Holiday hit treys off the bench.

The Rockets got out to a 27-12 lead in the first, but the Bucks went on an 8-0 run right before the quarter ended. Houston went into a shooting slump in the second that allowed the Bucks to get back into it. Sheppard caught fire from three.

Josh Okogie threw down a loud put-back dunk and followed it up with a 3-pointer. Amen Thompson added a couple of dunks in the second, but it was the Sheppard show from way downtown.

The Rockets’ paint defense wasn’t great in the first half, but were still up 54-44 halfway through. Houston did not shoot particularly well in the first half, but forced 10 turnovers and had eight fast-break points compared to 0 for Milwaukee.

Sheppard was the leading scorer at half with 15 points and was 5/7 from three.

The Rockets increased the lead to 20 early in the third. Sheppard and Durant each remained hot from beyond the arc. The Bucks cut it back down to 10 again and further down to 7 after a couple of threes of their own. Sengun got more involved in the third in scoring and facilitating.

It was just a seven-point game at the start of the fourth quarter. Sheppard continued his special night from beyond the arc. Sengun went to the locker room in the fourth, but returned to the bench after a timeout. It was clear his back was bothering him.

Sheppard also made a couple of nice assists. The Rockets maintained the 10-point lead, but the Bucks kept hanging around. Milwaukee responded with a couple of triples from way out and were down six with two minutes to go. The Bucks went on a 10-2 run. Thompson made a nice euro step bucket that brought the lead up from four to six with 37 seconds left.

The Rockets stay at home and face the Utah Jazz on Friday night as they look to extend the win streak to five.