Bucks Beat Rockets in Houston

In a matchup of the current and a possible future MVP, the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Houston Rockets 116-109 in Houston on January 9th. Reigning MVP James Harden scored 42 points and had 11 rebounds, but missed four three point attempts in a row near the end of the game, and Milwaukee put it away after an entertaining back and forth game.

Harden is in the discussion again for MVP–he is averaging 33.9 points per game, best in the NBA and is fourth in assists per game with 8.6–but Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo is on everyone’s list as well. Giannis, as he is usually referred to for obvious reasons, is averaging 26.6 points, 12.6 rebounds, and 6 assists per game. In this game against the Rockets, he scored 27 and had 21 rebounds.

The Rockets got off to a slow start this year and were 11-14 on December 8th. They’ve been on a tear since then, going 12-3, and should still be considered one of the top contenders in the Western Conference. They were in sixth place in the overall Western Conference standings after the loss to the Bucks. Milwaukee improved to 29-11, and is in first place in the Eastern Conference by percentage points over Toronto. These interconference games between contenders are always interesting, since the East and West teams only play each other twice during the regular season. The Bucks and Rockets will play in Milwaukee on March 26th.