Milwaukee Bucks: Takeaways from 120-116 loss to the Houston Rockets
A disastrous collapse did in the Milwaukee Bucks and their efforts to complete their comeback victory over the Houston Rockets Sunday night in Orlando.
The Milwaukee Bucks were left with a bad taste in their mouths after they crumbled late to the Houston Rockets in what ended up being a 120-116 defeat Sunday night.
Just as was the case Friday night, the Bucks got off to a tremendous start, with both Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton dialed in to set the tone. And just as was the case Friday night, as first quarter went on for the Bucks, they relinquished control to the Rockets, who led 32-29 through the first 12 minutes.
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The entire second quarter saw the Bucks trying to close the gap, but struggling to maintain some level of offensive consistency with the amount of miscues piling up.
Even still, the Bucks were in good position, only trailing the Rockets 62-54 going into halftime, given how things had flipped for them throughout the first half.
When the second half opened up, it took some time for the Bucks to truly kick on their comeback attempt midway through the third quarter. Eventually, they broke through to take their first lead since the opening frame at the 2:41 mark in the third and led 90-89 going into the final 12 minutes.
The tense back and forth affair continued all throughout the final period, but it looked as if the Bucks finally had the Rockets’ number with the amount of second effort plays they made, all of which helped them to take a 6-point lead with 2:45 left to go.
But to say the Bucks squandered their slight advantage over the Rockets would be an understatement. A slew of critical turnovers, questionable decision-making and needless fouls did in the Bucks and helped the Rockets to go on a 14-4 run in what remained of the game from that point.
So without further ado, let’s pick out takeaways from the Bucks’ tough loss to the Houston Rockets Sunday night, starting with the performances of their leading scorers for the game.