[43-14] Houston Rockets 114-96 Milwaukee Bucks [22-35]
Goran Dragic contributed 14 points and eight assists off the bench. | The Bucks' new acquisition, Enes Kanter, torched the Rockets for 26 points.In the first quarter, the Rockets could not find a way to contain Milwaukee's offense. Offensively, the trade deadline deal the Bucks pulled the trigger on was working to perfection. The seventh overall pick of the 2011 draft,
Enes Kanter, led the Bucks with 26 points and 17 rebounds, 10 of his points coming in the first quarter. The Bucks scored 36 points in the first quarter.
In the second quarter, the Rockets managed to slow down the Bucks through excellent defense.
Yao Ming patrolled the paint well, blocking five shots, scoring 19 points and grabbing seven boards. Meanwhile, Houston went all out on the inside. They scored a blistering 80 points in the paint, exposing Kanter's lack of experience. Despite their regrouping, Houston still trailed by two at halftime.
Houston came out on a rampage in the third quarter, outscoring the Bucks 38-18 and ending the game early. They were up 18 going into the fourth, and it was through the efforts of Yao and
Kevin Martin. Martin scored a game high 29 points and shot 11/20 from the field. The Rockets also got a valuable contribution from
Goran Dragic as he picked up the slack for
Kyle Lowry's foul trouble. Dragic had 14 points and eight assists off the bench. Houston cruised to an easy 114-96 win in Milwaukee.
Notes: As stated earlier, Houston scored a season high 80 points in the paint, and shot 51% from the field. Milwaukee meanwhile, shot just 37% from the field.
Key Performers:Rockets:Kevin Martin - 29 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block, 11/20 FG, 6/6 FT
Yao Ming - 19 points, 7 rebounds, 1 steal, 5 blocks, 9/11 FG
Kyle Lowry - 16 points, 8 assists, 3 rebounds, 7/10 FG
Goran Dragic - 14 points, 8 assists, 4 rebounds, 6/15 FG
Luis Scola - 12 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 6/15 FG
Courtney Lee - 9 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 4/10 FG
Bucks:Enes Kanter - 26 points, 17 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 12/22 FG
Monta Ellis - 23 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 10/28 FG, 3/4 FT
Corey Maggette - 12 points, 3 rebounds, 1 steal, 4/11 FG, 4/4 FT
Brandon Jennings - 10 points, 6 assists, 1 rebound, 2 steals, 3/18 FG
28 24 38 24 114
36 18 18 24 96[44-14] Houston Rockets 120-123 Chicago Bulls [36-20]
Kevin Martin and Yao Ming scored 33 points each, but unfortunately, it wasn't enough to beat the raging Bulls.
Derrick Rose had a sub-par shooting game. | Deng seems to enjoy playing the Rockets, he went for a career high 41 points.The Rockets beat the Bulls in almost every category you can name. They had more assists, more rebounds, shot better from beyond the arc and from the free throw line, had more blocks, more points in the paint, etc... There was just ONE dictating category that lost them this game: turnovers. The Rockets had a season high 22 turnovers leading to 20 Chicago Bulls steals. And yet, the Rockets were able to take this one into overtime.
This game had periods in which either team dominated. After a tough time scoring in the first quarter, the Rockets scored 37 points in the second, but then slumped to start the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, Chicago's lead was eight with about four minutes remaining. At 101-93,
Shane Battier scored a triple to shift the momentum in Houston's favor.
Luol Deng dominated the Rockets, scoring a career high 41 points on about 90% jumpshots. His stellar offense made up for
Derrick Rose's sub-par 8/22 shooting night.
"
The rim looked like a hula-hoop to me tonight. The farther away I took my shots, the bigger the rim seemed to get," Deng said. "
It was a weird sensation, but it got us the win."
Despite his efforts, Houston did not go down without a fight. The Bulls missed some key free throws (they went 14/21 from the free throw line for the game) and left the door open for the Rockets to tie it at 104. After Deng scored the go-ahead basket,
Luis Scola was fouled on the next possession with 1.6 seconds remaining. He calmly swished both free throws to tie it at 106. After Deng failed to make a desperation three off a timeout at the other end, the game went into overtime.
Overtime was a high-scoring affair.
Yao Ming and
Kevin Martin gave the Rockets the bulk of their 14 OT points, both scoring 33 points each for the game (a season high for Yao). However, Chicago was able to attain a firm seven-point lead at one point, but the Rockets still managed to bring it.
Martin knocked down a three to make the score 122-120, and Rose was subsequently fouled and sent to the line with six seconds left. He made one out of two, and with no timeouts remaining, Scola grabbed the rebound and passed it up ahead to Martin. However, the outlet pass was picked off by
Ronnie Brewer, and the game was over. Chicago just held off Houston 123-120.
Notes: Both teams shot 47% from the field. The Rockets went 10/19 from beyond the arc and 22/24 from the charity stripe. Despite Chicago's sub-par 7/25 from beyond the arc and 14/21 from the line, they held on thanks to their 20 steals. The Bulls sweep the season series against the Rockets 2-0, having won their last contest against them
96-94.
Key Performers:Rockets:Yao Ming - 33 points, 11 rebounds, 2 steals, 4 blocks, 14/18 FG, 5/5 FT
Kevin Martin - 33 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 13/27 FG, 2/6 3P, 5/7 FT
Goran Dragic - 13 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds, 5/8 FG, 3/4 3P
Courtney Lee - 13 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 5/5 FG, 2/2 FT
Luis Scola - 10 points, 11 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block, 1/8 FG, 8/8 FT
Shane Battier - 8 points, 9 rebounds, 1 assist, 3/8 FG, 2/2 3P
Kyle Lowry - 8 points, 14 assists, 4 rebounds, 1 steal, 3/12 FG, 2/6 3P
Bulls:Luol Deng - 41 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals, 18/35 FG, 5/15 3P
Derrick Rose - 23 points, 8 assists, 2 rebounds, 3 steals, 8/22 FG, 7/10 FT
Ronnie Brewer - 16 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals, 5/11 FG, 6/8 FT
Carlos Boozer - 14 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals, 7/12 FG
CJ Watson - 11 points, 5 assists, 1 rebound, 5/7 FG
Taj Gibson - 10 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals, 5/7 FG
19 37 27 23 14 120
24 27 26 29 17 123