National Basketball Association
Milwaukee 127, Houston 114
When: 8:00 PM ET, Monday, January 23, 2017
Where: BMO Harris Bradley Center, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Officials: #42 Eric Lewis, #49 Tom Washington, #40 Leon Wood
Attendance: 14016

MILWAUKEE -- Mired in a five-game losing streak, the Milwaukee Bucks snapped out of their offensive funk in a big way Monday night, setting a season high for points scored in a 127-114 victory over the Houston Rockets at the Bradley Center.

Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 31 points and Jabari Parker added 28 for the Bucks, who shot a season-best 58.8 percent from the floor and knocked down 11 of 23 3-point attempts.

"It feels good," Antetokounmpo said. "I think everybody did a great job tonight contributing. It just feels good to win, man. It just feels good."

Antetokounmpo and Parker combined to go 22 of 36 from the floor and had two 3-pointers each to spark the Bucks' offense, but Houston's inability to protect the ball provided the fuel, as Milwaukee converted 22 miscues into 34 points.

"They got into us," Houston coach Mike D'Antoni said. "They're long, athletic and they played as hard as they can play. Our scoring was good, but we didn't get into them. We let them off the hook."

James Harden led the Rockets with 26 points and added nine rebounds with 12 assists to record his NBA-leading 39th double-double of the season. However, he committed 11 turnovers in 39 minutes.

Parker said, "Harden is, in my eyes, the most valuable player in the league, and we tried our best to limit him to having a good game because he usually has great games every day. Almost averages a triple double."

The Rockets' 22 turnovers spoiled what was an otherwise strong performance by the offense. Houston connected on 50.6 percent of its shots and hit 14 3-pointers -- including four from Patrick Beverley and three each from Ryan Anderson and Eric Gordon.

However, the Rockets couldn't hold onto the ball, and even when they did get close, they fell into lulls that let Milwaukee create too much separation.

"Our shooting has got us into games or back into games," Anderson said. "We can't rely on that night in and night out. We need to be focused defensively a whole lot more."

After the game was tied at 33 through one quarter, the Bucks opened the second on a 14-0 run to make it a 47-33 game. The Rockets recovered and closed out on 10-4 run to get within four at the break.

Milwaukee shoot 68.3 percent and Houston hit 52.4 percent of its shots, including eight 3-pointers, in the half. Both sides cooled off significantly in the third and Houston managed to tie things up at 99 on a Clint Capela dunk with 8:22 to play. However, the Bucks used 3-pointers from Jason Terry and Tony Snell to fuel their late run and went up 110-99 when Snell connected from the top of the key with 6:47 to play.

"We just gave them too many opportunities," Harden said. "You can't go down double digits, especially on the road, and expect to come back. We have to do a better job of that."

Harden made it a five-point deficit with four minutes left, but Greg Monroe, Matthew Dellavedova and Antetokounmpo combined to go 6 of 6 from the line down the stretch to close it out.

"Every team goes on a losing streak," Antetokounmpo said. "It's going to happen, but we've got to show how mature we are. We can be a young team, but show how mature we are to end the streak, and that's what we did tonight. And Houston is a great team, but we played harder than them and we ended the streak.

"That showed maturity from a young team. And moving forward, now we've got to show how mature we are in getting a winning streak."

NOTES: F Jabari Parker returned to Milwaukee's starting lineup Monday. Parker started the Bucks' first 42 games this season but came off the bench Saturday at Miami, a punishment for sharing details of a team meeting with members of the media. ... PG Matthew Dellavedova remained in the Bucks' starting lineup Monday. He had come off the bench in seven straight games before replacing G Malcolm Brogdon on Saturday. Dellavedova started Milwaukee's first 30 games this season before sitting out five with a hamstring injury. ... Monday marked the first time Houston F Sam Dekker played professionally in his home state, and he scored four points. Dekker grew up in Port Washington, Wis., and played for the University of Wisconsin.
Top Game Performances
 
Houston   Milwaukee
James Harden 26 Scoring Giannis Antetokounmpo 31
James Harden 12 Assists Malcolm Brogdon 9
James Harden 8 Rebounds Greg Monroe 10
James Harden 12 Free Throws Made Giannis Antetokounmpo 7
Trevor Ariza 4 Steals Malcolm Brogdon 4
Nene 2 Blocks Giannis Antetokounmpo 4
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Houston 114 50.6 14-35 22-28 26 28 4 11 22
Milwaukee 127 58.8 11-23 22-27 31 37 6 17 19
Upcoming Games
  • Milwaukee will play their next game at home against Philadelphia. The Bucks have a W/L % of .429 after a win and .522 after a loss.
  • Houston will play their next game on the road against Boston. The Rockets have a W/L % of .647 after a win and .857 after a loss.