Bucks Beat Rockets in Battle of MVP Candidates

The Bucks took on the Houston Rockets in Milwaukee on March 26th, in a contest not only of two playoff bound teams, but also a matchup featuring probably the two leading candidates for the NBA’s Most Valuable Player Award.

The Rockets have James Harden, the winner of last year’s award, and who is having another MVP caliber season. Harden is averaging over 36 points per game, well out in front of the pack. The Bucks have Giannis Antetokounmpo, a.k.a The Greek Freak, who is in the top five in both scoring and rebounds, and is also averaging six assists per game, second among power forwards.

Both played well, but this game also showed why these teams are playoff bound–they aren’t just one man shows. Giannis scored 19 points, 14 rebounds, and four assists, but Eric Bledsoe led Milwaukee with 23 points and seven assists as the Bucks beat the Rockets 108-94. Four of five Bucks starters scored in double figures, and the team got 28 points from the bench, including 14 from Pat Connaughton who hit four of five three point attempts. Harden led the Rockets with 23 points, but was only one of nine from three point range. Chris Paul had 19 and Clint Capela added 17 for Houston. The victory completed a two game regular season sweep of the Rockets.

 
Houston (47-28) is tied for third with Portland in the Western Conference standings, four games behind Golden State. The Bucks improved to 56-19, the best record in the NBA. Milwaukee is closing in on the number one overall seed for the playoffs, and leads Toronto by four games and Golden State and Denver by five games. Milwaukee has seven regular season games remaining.