Dame hits the game winner with two seconds left
In a game that nearly became another frustrating loss, the Milwaukee Bucks came from behind and knocked off the Houston Rockets, 101-100.
Damian Lillard returned to the starting lineup, but this one began with a sputter from the Bucks. Alperen Şengün had his fingertips all over the box score in the opening frame, facilitating, scoring, and rebounding the basketball. However, the Bucks floated around. Thanks to three Damian Lillard free throws at the tail end of the quarter, Milwaukee sliced the deficit to just one after twelve minutes, 28-27.
The Milwaukee offense ignited in the second quarter, thanks in large part to the shooting of Brook Lopez and Gary Trent Jr. At the break, Lopez led the way with 4/5 on shooting from the perimeter, resulting in 16 points. Meanwhile, Trent boasted 12 off the bench. That provided the Bucks with a double-digit 57-45 lead headed into the locker room.
The Bucks seemed to be walking in quicksand a bit during some of their possessions throughout the third, lacking creativity at times. Poor shot selections plagued things on occasion, allowing Houston to get back within single-digits. At the end of three, it was the Bucks 83, Rockets 80.
Houston immediately rattled off a 5-0 run to reclaim an advantage. They’d hold command nearly the entire fourth quarter with the Bucks coughing up a double-digit advantage. However, Milwaukee didn’t roll over and eventually, a Damian Lillard scooping layup provided them a 101-100 advantage with two seconds left. Houston then tried going inside to Alperen Şengün but the ball was batted away and the Rockets never got a shot attempt, securing the victory for the Bucks.
Stat That Stood Out
Despite the duo of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard being back out on the court together, Milwaukee was still lacking the offensive firepower to kick this one off. However, Brook Lopez soon lit the match and got things moving. In the end, he’d score a game-high 27 points on five threes. Whenever the Bucks’ offense came to a grinding halt, it seemed as if he was the one who got it back up and running. His double-double was massive tonight.
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