Brandon Jennings and Stephen Jackson lead Milwaukee Bucks over Houston Rockets: NBA Recap
After tasting defeat at the hands of Atlanta Hawks in a close game just two nights ago, the Milwaukee Bucks came back strong on Wednesday night and subdued the surging Houston Rockets 105-99 to improve their record to 7-10 in the
shortened season.
The Bucks faced a major setback in the first quarter after their star Andrew Bogut hurt his foot, which forced him out of the remaining game. However in his absence, other players stepped up and took the team forward.
Brandon Jennings and Stephen Jackson both accumulated 20 points while Mike Dunleavy, who struggled to find his rhythm in the last three games and missed all his shots from the long range, bundled 18 points on 3 for 5 from downtown.
"It's been a while since I made one," Dunleavy said. "When you see it go in, you actually believe that there's not a lid on there. After that, you shoot it a little bit more confidently."
Drew Gooden had 11 points while Ersan Ilyasova - integral part of the Bucks defence - pulled down 19 rebounds in the game.
"I just try to bring the energy," Ilyasova said after the game, "that's all I try to do."
Kevin Martin marshalled the Rockets with a game high 29 points, Luis Scola drained 18 while Chandler Parsons netted 16 points along with 7 rebounds and 5 assists. Samuel Dalembert also had a double-double with 13 points and 18
boards.
The Rockets started slowly and trailed throughout the first frame, but they pushed the gas in the last few minutes and rattled a 13-3 spurt to ensure they held the upper hand in the second half.
Milwaakee pushed their momentum into the third frame and midway through the quarter successfully boosted the lead to double figures 64-54. In the ensuing passage though, they blew up the lead coutesy some terrible defence. By the
end of the frame, the Bucks found themselves trailing behind 2 points 70-72.
However, in the fourth quarter, it was Houston's turn to let loose on the D and what came was a 16-0 burst, capped by a Stephen 3, which allowed the Bucks to pull away.
Scola, Kevin and Parsons tried their best to get their team back in the game but the deficit was just too much.
Houston’s coach Kevin McHale was disappointed with the final outcome.
"You can't let up that quickly, "McHale said."We had plenty of chances out there to take this game, to control this game. In the third quarter, we let it get away from us."
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