Jalen Green scored 25 points, Alperen Sengun added a double-double, and the Houston Rockets held on for a 100-97 victory over the visiting Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday.
Green sank two free throws with 8.1 seconds left before Damian Lillard missed a pair of free throws with 3.7 seconds remaining and a 3-pointer at the buzzer after Giannis Antetokounmpo won a jump ball following a double lane violation on the second Lillard miss at the line.
Sengun paired 23 points with 11 rebounds but committed an inexplicable turnover with 12.5 seconds left and the Rockets leading by three points. Dillon Brooks added 16 points and grabbed eight rebounds for Houston, matching the total secured by Green and Jabari Smith Jr., who tallied 13 points off the bench. The Rockets posted a 53-37 rebounding advantage.
Amen Thompson added nine points, nine rebounds and six assists for the Rockets before being ejected for committing a flagrant-2 foul on Antetokounmpo with 4:27 left and Houston up 92-90.
Antetokounmpo posted 27 points, 10 rebounds and six assists while Lillard added 22 points but on 7-of-22 shooting. Brook Lopez and AJ Green scored 12 apiece for the Bucks, who had their four-game winning streak snapped. Lopez added eight rebounds and three blocks to his ledger.
Green and Brooks nailed 3s during an 11-1 run that lifted the Rockets to their largest lead of the first quarter at 22-13 but, despite Houston scoring 20 points in the paint in the period, the Bucks shaved that deficit to five points entering the second. That margin vanished when Kevin Porter Jr. sandwiched a pair of steals and transition dunks around a Kyle Kuzma 3 for a 32-30 lead.
The Rockets fashioned another rally featuring 3-pointers from Tari Eason and Brooks before a Thompson alley-oop dunk pushed Houston to a 46-36 lead. But the Rockets lost Lillard twice in transition, and he nailed 3-pointers that kickstarted a closing surge that resulted in the Bucks securing a 59-57 halftime lead following a Kuzma dunk and a Lillard driving layup.
