Game ID: 22300496
Milwaukee Bucks @ Houston Rockets
Saturday, January 6, 2024 at 8:00 PM ET
Toyota Center, Houston, TX
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
HOU 29 34 26 23 112MIL 18 25 30 35 108
HOU vs MIL ScoutingHOU vs MIL Scouting
Welcome to the scouting desk. The coffee is cold, the film is play-by-play, and somebody has to explain what happened.
Every game has a hinge — a stretch where it was decided, usually while everyone was watching something else. Start where the evidence lives: the Lineups' face-offs say which five actually won their minutes; the Possessions ledger says who ran ahead of the night's own pace; the Shot Chart says where the points really came from, which is rarely where the highlights were. When all three agree, that is the story. When they don't — that is why this desk has a chair.
HOU availability going into 12/29 · 1 day's restBACK Thompson back 12/20 after 4, 14 min since (62% of 22)
BACK Eason back 12/23 after 2, 24 min since (110% of 22)
BACK Whitmore back 12/22 after 8, 16 min since (86% of 19)
BACK Landale back 12/27 after 2, 12 min since (88% of 14)
HOU availability going into 1/01 · 2 days' restOUT Brooks missed 2 since 12/27, out tonight
BACK Eason back 12/23 after 2, 25 min since (114% of 22)
BACK Whitmore back 12/22 after 8, 16 min since (86% of 19)
BACK Landale back 12/27 after 2, 10 min since (72% of 14)
HOU availability going into 1/03 · 1 day's restOUT Brooks missed 3 since 12/27, out tonight
BACK Eason back 12/23 after 2, 25 min since (113% of 22)
BACK Whitmore back 12/27 after 2, 13 min since (68% of 19)
BACK Landale back 12/27 after 2, 9 min since (65% of 14)
NEW Tate 16 to 22 min over the last 5
HOU availability going into 1/05 · 1 day's restOUT Brooks missed 4 since 12/27, out tonight
BACK Whitmore back 12/27 after 2, 14 min since (75% of 19)
BACK Landale back 12/27 after 2, 9 min since (65% of 14)
NEW Tate 16 to 26 min over the last 5
HOU availability going into 1/06 · back-to-backOUT Brooks missed 5 since 12/27, out tonight
BACK Whitmore back 12/27 after 2, 14 min since (76% of 19)
BACK Landale back 12/27 after 2, 8 min since (59% of 14)
NEW Tate 16 to 28 min over the last 5
HOU availability going into 1/08 · 1 day's restOUT Brooks missed 6 since 12/27, out tonight
NEW Je. Green 17 to 23 min over the last 5
NEW Tate 16 to 27 min over the last 5
HOU availability going into 1/10 · 1 day's restOUT Brooks missed 7 since 12/27, out tonight
OUT Landale missed 2 since 1/06, out tonight
NEW Tate 16 to 26 min over the last 5
HOU availability going into 1/12 · 1 day's restOUT Brooks missed 8 since 12/27, out tonight
OUT Landale missed 3 since 1/06, out tonight
NEW Smith Jr. 32 to 37 min over the last 5
NEW Je. Green 17 to 22 min over the last 5
NEW Tate 16 to 25 min over the last 5
HOU availability going into 1/13 · back-to-backOUT Brooks missed 9 since 12/27, returns tonight: 25 min (81% of 31)
OUT Landale missed 4 since 1/06, returns tonight: 12 min (88% of 14)
NEW Smith Jr. 32 to 39 min over the last 5
NEW Tate 16 to 22 min over the last 5
MIL availability going into 12/29 · 1 day's restOUT Crowder missed 22 since 11/13, out tonight
BACK Beasley back 12/19 after 2, 26 min since (88% of 29)
MIL availability going into 1/01 · 2 days' restOUT Crowder missed 23 since 11/13, out tonight
MIL availability going into 1/03 · 1 day's restOUT Crowder missed 24 since 11/13, out tonight
OUT Green missed 2 since 12/29, out tonight
MIL availability going into 1/04 · back-to-backOUT Crowder missed 25 since 11/13, out tonight
OUT Green missed 3 since 12/29, out tonight
MIL availability going into 1/06 · 1 day's restOUT Crowder missed 26 since 11/13, out tonight
OUT Green missed 4 since 12/29, returns tonight: 3 min (27% of 11)
NEW Beauchamp 12 to 17 min over the last 4
MIL availability going into 1/08 · 1 day's restOUT Crowder missed 27 since 11/13, out tonight
BACK Green back 1/06 after 4, 3 min since (27% of 11)
NEW Beauchamp 12 to 18 min over the last 4
MIL availability going into 1/11 · 2 days' restOUT Crowder missed 28 since 11/13, out tonight
BACK Green back 1/06 after 4, 7 min since (64% of 11)
NEW Beauchamp 12 to 19 min over the last 4
MIL availability going into 1/13 · 1 day's restOUT Crowder missed 29 since 11/13, out tonight
BACK Green back 1/06 after 4, 8 min since (69% of 11)
NEW Beauchamp 12 to 18 min over the last 5
MIL availability going into 1/14 · back-to-backOUT Crowder missed 30 since 11/13, out tonight
BACK Green back 1/06 after 4, 8 min since (69% of 11)
NEW Jackson Jr. 10 to 17 min over the last 5
I Know — the desk, before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Houston comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 119, shooting 48 percent and 44 from three, 22 free throws a game; Sengun at 25 and Ja. Green at 22 a game. Without Brooks (5 straight). Second night of a back-to-back. Milwaukee comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 126 a night and allowing 124, shooting 51 percent and 37 from three, 26 free throws a game; Antetokounmpo at 33 and Lillard at 21 a game. Without Crowder (26 straight). One day's rest.
So: Houston wins, and the game turns on the arc, Houston at 44 percent from three to Milwaukee's 37. Call it Houston 120, Milwaukee 119, Milwaukee keeping it close.
12/29 vs PHI 127-131 — HOU notes
HOU lost 127-131. HOU shot 54% (49 of 91) to PHI's 52%, 14 of 30 from three, and got to the line 21 times to PHI's 33. HOU turned it over 16 times to PHI's 10, and PHI turned those into 10 steals. The glass went 42-30 for them. VanVleet led with 33 (9 of 16, 8 of 12 from three, 7 of 8 at the line); Ja. Green added 31, Sengun 28. Q1 was theirs, 32-26, but the other 3 periods went 105-95 against them. They led by as many as 11. Eason's -8 in 27 minutes was the worst on the floor.
1/01 vs DET 136-113 — HOU notes
HOU won 136-113. HOU shot 56% (51 of 91) to DET's 48%, 15 of 35 from three. HOU turned it over 9 times to DET's 17. Sengun led with 26 (9 of 13, 8 of 9 at the line); Ja. Green added 22, Eason 17. The hinge was Q3, 47-25: a lead of 4 became 26, and the lead reached 33. Sengun was the night's best plus/minus at +20.
1/03 vs BKN 112-101 — HOU notes
HOU won 112-101. HOU shot 49% (37 of 76) to BKN's 39%, 19 of 39 from three. HOU turned it over 16 times to BKN's 8, and BKN turned those into 11 steals. Sengun led with 30 (11 of 17, 8 of 10 at the line); VanVleet added 21, Ja. Green 14. The hinge was Q3, 38-25: HOU came in trailing by 1 and left it ahead by 12, and the lead reached 18. HOU trailed 49-50 at the half and won the second half 63-51. VanVleet was the night's best plus/minus at +24.
1/05 vs MIN 95-122 — HOU notes
HOU lost 95-122. HOU shot 40% (36 of 90) to MIN's 52%, 12 of 32 from three. The glass went 38-52 against them. Ja. Green led with 20 (7 of 16, 4 of 8 from three); Sengun added 19, Smith Jr. 16. Q2 was theirs, 22-24, but the other 3 periods went 98-73 against them. Thompson's -20 in 20 minutes was the worst on the floor.
1/06 vs MIL 112-108 — HOU notes
HOU won 112-108. HOU shot 43% (36 of 83) to MIL's 46%, 13 of 34 from three, and got to the line 32 times to MIL's 42. Sengun led with 21 (7 of 21, 7 of 10 at the line); Je. Green added 16, Ja. Green 16. The hinge was Q1, 29-18: from level to 11 ahead, and the lead reached 21.
1/08 @ MIA — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Miami comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 107 a night and allowing 110, shooting 44 percent and 32 from three, 26 free throws a game; Adebayo at 22 and Herro at 19 a game. Without Butler III (3 straight), Martin (5 straight), Highsmith (3 straight). 2 days' rest. Houston comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 115, shooting 48 percent and 43 from three, 24 free throws a game; Sengun at 25 and Ja. Green at 21 a game. Without Brooks (6 straight). One day's rest.
So: Miami wins, and the game turns on the arc, Houston at 43 percent from three to Miami's 32. Call it Miami 113, Houston 112, Houston keeping it close.
1/10 @ CHI — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Chicago comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 105 a night and allowing 104, shooting 46 percent and 31 from three, 22 free throws a game; White at 22 and DeRozan at 21 a game. Without Craig (11 straight). One day's rest. Houston comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 114 a night and allowing 113, shooting 46 percent and 40 from three, 25 free throws a game; Sengun at 24 and VanVleet at 18 a game. Without Brooks (7 straight). One day's rest.
So: Chicago wins, and the game turns on the arc, Houston at 40 percent from three to Chicago's 31 and the glass, where Chicago has been plus-4 a night and Houston minus-2. Call it Chicago 111, Houston 109, Houston keeping it close.
1/12 @ DET — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Detroit comes in 0-5 over its last five, scoring 118 a night and allowing 132, shooting 48 percent and 37 from three, 19 free throws a game; Bogdanović at 21 and Cunningham at 21 a game. That is 5 straight losses. Without Cunningham (2 straight), Stewart (8 straight), Bagley III (5 straight). One day's rest. Houston comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 110 a night and allowing 115, shooting 44 percent and 36 from three, 24 free throws a game; Sengun at 23 and VanVleet at 19 a game. Without Brooks (8 straight). One day's rest.
So: Houston wins, on the road, and the game turns on the defense, Houston allowing 115 a night to Detroit's 132 and the line, where Houston takes 24 free throws a game to Detroit's 19. Call it Houston 118, Detroit 115, Detroit keeping it close.
1/13 @ BOS — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Boston comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 121 a night and allowing 117, shooting 45 percent and 38 from three, 29 free throws a game; Tatum at 30 and Brown at 26 a game. One day's rest. Houston comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 110 a night and allowing 117, shooting 44 percent and 32 from three, 24 free throws a game; Sengun at 23 and Ja. Green at 19 a game. Without Brooks (9 straight). Second night of a back-to-back.
So: Boston wins, and the game turns on the arc, Boston at 38 percent from three to Houston's 32 and the line, where Boston takes 29 free throws a game to Houston's 24. Call it Boston 119, Houston 111.
12/29 @ CLE 119-111 — MIL notes
MIL won 119-111. MIL shot 51% (41 of 80) to CLE's 48%, 12 of 29 from three, and went to the line 28 times to CLE's 9 — 25 points from the stripe to their 7. MIL turned it over 17 times to CLE's 8, and CLE turned those into 11 steals. Antetokounmpo led with 34 (14 of 22, 6 of 7 at the line); Lillard added 31, Beasley 15. The hinge was Q3, 40-21: MIL came in trailing by 7 and left it ahead by 12, and the lead reached 15. MIL trailed 52-59 at the half and won the second half 67-52. Lillard was the night's best plus/minus at +14.
1/01 vs IND 113-122 — MIL notes
MIL lost 113-122. MIL shot 44% (41 of 93) to IND's 44%, 10 of 40 from three, and got to the line 26 times to IND's 38. Antetokounmpo led with 30 (11 of 20, 0 of 3 from three, 8 of 11 at the line); Lopez added 21, Middleton 21. Q1 was theirs, 32-25, but the other 3 periods went 97-81 against them. They led by as many as 15. Connaughton's -22 in 24 minutes was the worst on the floor.
1/03 @ IND 130-142 — MIL notes
MIL lost 130-142. MIL shot 50% (46 of 92) to IND's 56%, 14 of 37 from three. G. Antetokounmpo led with 26 (8 of 13, 9 of 13 at the line); Lillard added 23, Middleton 19. Q2 was theirs, 37-33, turning a 2-point deficit into a 2-point lead, but the other 3 periods went 109-93 against them. Lillard's -22 in 36 minutes was the worst on the floor.
1/04 @ SAS 125-121 — MIL notes
MIL won 125-121. MIL shot 53% (49 of 92) to SAS's 48%, 12 of 34 from three. Antetokounmpo led with 44 (19 of 28, 2 of 3 from three, 4 of 6 at the line); Lillard added 25, Middleton 12. The hinge was Q1, 38-31: from level to 7 ahead. Antetokounmpo was the night's best plus/minus at +11.
1/06 @ HOU 108-112 — MIL notes
MIL lost 108-112. MIL shot 46% (35 of 76) to HOU's 43%, 9 of 34 from three, and went to the line 42 times to HOU's 32 — 29 points from the stripe to their 27. Antetokounmpo led with 48 (16 of 25, 15 of 21 at the line); Lillard added 18, Middleton 10. Q4 was theirs, 35-23, the deficit cut from 16 to 4, but the other 3 periods went 89-73 against them. Connaughton's -13 in 19 minutes was the worst on the floor.
1/08 vs UTA — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Milwaukee comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 122, shooting 49 percent and 33 from three, 29 free throws a game; Antetokounmpo at 36 and Lillard at 22 a game. Without Crowder (27 straight). One day's rest. Utah comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 123 a night and allowing 116, shooting 48 percent and 29 from three, 28 free throws a game; Markkanen at 22 and Sexton at 18 a game. Without Hendricks (6 straight), Juzang (11 straight), Sensabaugh (6 straight). One day's rest.
So: Milwaukee wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Utah has been plus-4 a night and Milwaukee minus-1. Call it Milwaukee 121, Utah 118, Utah keeping it close.
1/11 vs BOS — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Milwaukee comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 118 a night and allowing 126, shooting 48 percent and 34 from three, 28 free throws a game; Antetokounmpo at 35 and Lillard at 20 a game. It has lost the glass by 4 a night. Without Crowder (28 straight). 2 days' rest. Boston comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 125 a night and allowing 116, shooting 47 percent and 40 from three, 29 free throws a game; Tatum at 36 and Brown at 27 a game. It has won the glass by 6 a night. Second night of a back-to-back.
So: Boston wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where Boston has been plus-6 a night and Milwaukee minus-4 and the defense, Boston allowing 116 a night to Milwaukee's 126. Call it Boston 121, Milwaukee 119, Milwaukee keeping it close.
1/13 vs GSW — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Milwaukee comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 123 a night and allowing 122, shooting 50 percent and 38 from three, 26 free throws a game; Antetokounmpo at 33 and Lillard at 22 a game. Without Crowder (29 straight). One day's rest. Golden State comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 121 a night and allowing 129, shooting 48 percent and 37 from three, 21 free throws a game; Thompson at 22 and Curry at 21 a game. Without Green (15 straight), Paul (3 straight), Payton II (5 straight). Second night of a back-to-back.
So: Milwaukee wins, and the game turns on the defense, Milwaukee allowing 122 a night to Golden State's 129. Call it Milwaukee 125, Golden State 118.
1/14 vs SAC — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Milwaukee comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 123 a night and allowing 117, shooting 51 percent and 39 from three, 23 free throws a game; Antetokounmpo at 35 and Lillard at 23 a game. Without Crowder (30 straight). Second night of a back-to-back. Sacramento comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 117, shooting 47 percent and 37 from three, 18 free throws a game; Sabonis at 23 and Murray at 20 a game. One day's rest.
So: Milwaukee wins, in a game with no one edge to lean on. Call it Milwaukee 121, Sacramento 117, Sacramento keeping it close.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
MILAG A. Green
AJ A. Jackson Jr.
BL B. Lopez
BP B. Portis
CP C. Payne
DL D. Lillard
GA G. Antetokounmpo
KM K. Middleton
MB M. Beasley
MB M. Beauchamp
PC P. Connaughton
HOUAH A. Holiday
AS A. Sengun
AT A. Thompson
CW C. Whitmore
FV F. VanVleet
JG J. Green
JS J. Smith Jr.
JT J. Tate
JG Ja. Green
JG Je. Green
MIL/HOU the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
END the clock ran out, ball in hand
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur
HOUSTON -- — Alperen Sengun scored 21 points and the Houston Rockets overcame 48 points from Giannis Antetokounmpo to beat the Milwaukee Bucks 112-108 on Saturday night.
Antetokounmpo shot 16 of 25 from the field and added 17 rebounds in his seventh straight double-double. But the Bucks lost for the third time in four games to start 2024 after going 11-2 in December.
“We have to be better. We have to play better, we have to defend better, we have to trust one another better, we have to be coached better,” Antetokounmpo said. “Every single thing, everybody has to be better. It starts from the equipment manager — he has to wash our clothes better. The bench has to be better, the leaders of the team have to be more vocal, we have to make more shots, we have to defend better, we have to have a better strategy, we have to be better. We have four months to get better, so we’ll see.”
Jalen Green scored 16 points for Houston. Fred VanVleet had 14 points and seven assists, and Jabari Smith Jr. added 14 points and 12 rebounds.
The Rockets entered the fourth quarter with an 89-73 lead.
Damian Lillard had 18 points and nine assists in a poor-shooting night. He missed a season-high three free throws, on 10 attempts, and went 5 for 16 from the field, including 1 for 8 from 3.
“It’ll come. It’s a team sport, it’s five guys out there,” Bucks coach Adrian Griffin said. “I thought we dug ourselves in a hole as a unit and did a good job of getting out of it but just ran out of time. They did a good job defensively.”
Khris Middleton added 10 points on 3-of-9 shooting for the Bucks.
Veteran Rockets reserve Jeff Green had a season-high 16 points. Cam Whitmore added 12 off the bench and Aaron Holiday had 11. The Rockets’ bench outscored Milwaukee’s 43-22.
“We played as hard as we can,” Sengun said. “They’re a really good team. We did everything to stop them except Giannis. He played a great game, but we guarded everybody else good so we won the game.”
Houston closed the first quarter on a 13-0 run to take a 29-16 lead.
The Rockets outscored Milwaukee 15-6 in the last four minutes of the second quarter to enter halftime with a 63-43 lead. Houston led by as many as 21 points in the game and didn't allow anyone other than Antetokounmpo to make more than five baskets.
“He’s a hard guard,” Rockets coach Ime Udoka said. “We can live with one guy going off as long as we keep everybody else under wraps. Giannis is a tough one. You’ve got to pick your poison at times. We’ve shown this year that when we go after everybody else and let one guy loose, we have good results.”
Rockets forward Dillon Brooks remained sidelined for a sixth straight game with a right abdominal oblique strain.
The Rockets wrapped up a seven-game homestand in which they went 3-4 to move to 18-16. Their next six games will be on the road against Eastern Conference opponents.