James Harden Leads as Houston Rockets Tie Their Own Record Against the Milwaukee Bucks

The Houston Rockets are on a roll. After starting their bubble life with a win over the best offensive team in the league, they have now beaten the best defensive team in the league. The Rockets defended well in the late stages and secured the win over the Milwaukee Bucks, despite an off-night for superstar James Harden.

The Bucks kept giving away open looks for the Rockets on the perimeter and the Rockets kept shooting. However, they could only make 21 out of their record-breaking attempts total. Harden had a terrible shooting night, going 5/14 from the field. 12 of those shots came from the perimeter but only three went in.

Houston Rockets win it with their defense

The small-ball Rockets have had the highest three-point attempts throughout the season. They average 44.3 attempts per game, making 15.5 out of it at almost 35%. But today they tied their own record of 61 attempts from beyond the arc in a non-overtime game. They have had two previous games where they attempted 61 threes in a regulation game.

The Rockets displayed some awful shooting from, managing 39.6% as a team. Their small-ball lineup was exposed on the glass as expected. They were outrebounded heavily, as the Bucks had 65 compared to their 36.

The reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo tried his best, as he scored 36 points, got 18 rebounds and dished out eight assists. But he couldn’t step up in the clutch. With less than 20 seconds left, the Bucks were one point behind as Giannis brought the ball in. Instead of running down the clock, he drove into the paint and tried to bail out for a corner three but gave away the ball instead.

The Rockets were nowhere near their offensive best, but their defense was outstanding tonight. They had 15 steals throughout the game with Harden getting six out of it. Their defense also forced 22 turnovers out of the Bucks. Tim McMahon from ESPN tweeted about their clutch defense stats. “Houston ranks third in clutch defensive rating (97.7 points allowed per 100 possessions) this season,” he tweeted.

Russell Westbrook was the hero on the offense for the Rockets today, leading with 31 points and eight assists. With Harden unable to get going, Westbrook took over and made four crucial free throws in the last minute as well. “Adversity showed up, and we showed out,” Westbrook said post-game.

This former MVP duo looks dangerous and hungry and if they continue like this, it will be tough to stop them.

The Rockets now play conference rivals Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday and then have a big game on Thursday against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Sources:

StatMuse on Twitter

Tim McMahon on Twitter

Rockets vs Bucks

Ben DuBose on Twitter