Russell Westbrook led Houston with 31 points and eight assists as the Rockets rallied from an eight-point deficit in the final three minutes to defeat the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday night, 120-116 (box score).
It’s the second straight late comeback for the Rockets in games at the NBA “bubble” in Florida. In Friday’s opener, Houston overcame a seven-point deficit with under 45 seconds left in regulation to eventually defeat Dallas in overtime, 153-149. That rally came versus the No. 1 offense.
On Sunday, they did it with a 16-4 burst in the final two minutes and 59 seconds, all against a Milwaukee team that has the league’s No. 1 defense and its best record. For a franchise known by its storied “Clutch City” moniker, the late heroics in a potential NBA Finals preview should provide plenty of optimism, as the 2020 playoffs are now only six games away.
“Adversity showed up, and we showed out,” Westbrook said postgame.
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With Sunday’s victory, Houston (42-24) moved up to the No. 4 spot in the tightly packed Western Conference standings. The Bucks (54-13) remain in the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Between Westbrook, James Harden, and Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo, Sunday’s showdown featured the NBA’s most recent three MVPs. “The Greek Freak” fared well with 36 points, 18 rebounds, and eight assists, and his blend of size and athleticism helped the Bucks overwhelm the smaller Rockets with a 65-36 rebounding advantage. Seven-footer Brook Lopez also excelled with 23 points and 12 rebounds.
But for the Rockets, what they gave up in size was made up for by the floor spacing and open shots that they were able to generate on offense.
Houston connected on 21-of-61 shots from 3-point range (34.4%), which made for a 36-point advantage relative to the 9-of-35 showing (25.7%) on 3-pointers by the Bucks. “The Beard” scored just 24 points on 5-of-14 shooting (35.7%), which was well below the norm for him, but the attention he drew led to open shots for his teammates. In addition to Harden, P.J. Tucker, Robert Covington, Danuel House Jr., Jeff Green, and Ben McLemore all made at least three treys for the Rockets.
Beard & Brodie combine for 55pts/15ast/13reb in the big win! pic.twitter.com/mEtqG78JOm
— Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) August 3, 2020
The combination of floor spacing and the defensive focus on Harden also helped open up driving lanes for Westbrook, who hit 10-of-21 shots (47.6%) from the field. He also made 10-of-12 free throws (83.3%), including all four in the final minute after his attacking style led to fouls.
While the smaller Rockets were greatly outrebounded, they also helped offset that by forcing Milwaukee into 22 turnovers. Houston had 15 steals, led by six from Harden — who delivered on both offense and defense late in the game as Houston took over. In the decisive run, the Rockets limited Milwaukee to just four points in the final three minutes.
The Rockets will look to keep their momentum going on Tuesday night against the Portland Trail Blazers (30-38), with tip-off set for 8:00 p.m. from Disney World. The game will be broadcast nationally on TNT and regionally on AT&T SportsNet Southwest (with Houston announcers).
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