Rockets hold off the Bucks

Posted: February 6, 2015 -- 11:55 pm.

HOUSTON, TX (Toyota Center) -- Trevor Ariza made a huge three point shot with 2:59 left in the fourth quarter to give the Houston Rockets a six point lead and some much needed breathing room as the Rockets held on to defeat the Milwaukee Bucks 117-111 Friday night.

Once the Rockets took a 4-2 lead, the Rockets never trailed in the ball game; however, despite leads as large as 18 points, the Rockets never seemed in complete control of the game.

"In the first half we were up 18, three or four different times, I thought, with a chance to really turn it over and bump that up to the twenties," Kevin McHale said after the game. "We didn't do it. We just kind of had a vibe that they're hanging around. They made enough shots and started scrambling the game like crazy."

The Rockets (35-15) shot the ball so well the Bucks, despite shooting 56.5% (26 for 46 field goals) in the first half, trailed the Rockets by twelve points (68-56) at halftime.

Trevor Ariza scored 21 points in the opening 24 minutes. Ariza made 8 of 11 field goals, including a blistering 5 for 6 from behind the three-point line. Houston made 10 of 17 three-point shots in the first half.

The Rockets' hot shooting cooled slightly in the third quarter; and, their lead was sliced to seven (81-74) with 5:22 remaining in the third period. However, a three-point basket from Patrick Beverley helped start a 15-8 run to give the Rockets a 96-82 lead at the end of the third quarter.

As hot as the Rockets' offense was through three quarters, the Rockets was frigid in the fourth quarter. The Rockets missed nine consecutive field goals which helped the Bucks (27-23) walk back into the game. Houston's lead was down to seven before James Harden scored a driving layup to boost the lead to 105-96; but, a turnover by Josh Smith combined with a missed layup by Harden and a missed dunk by Patrick Beverley continued the Rockets' swoon on offense. The Bucks scored six straight points to reduce the Rockets' lead to 105-102.

After the teams traded a bucket, Ariza splashed in a three-point shot from the corner (in front of the Bucks' bench) to put the Rockets ahead 110-104 with 2:59 remaining in the game.

Milwaukee's sensational young phenom, Giannis Antetokounmpo, scored a lay-up for a 4 point Rockets' lead; but, the Rockets kept the Bucks from getting any closer in the final minutes of the game.

With 1:02 remaining in the game, Harden stole the ball from Giannis; and, after a mad scramble for the ball, Harden dove on the floor, secured the ball, and called timeout to preserve the possession. After the timeout, harden was fouled and sank both free throws for a 112-106 lead with 43.3 seconds remaining.

"I hit the ball and the ball just went rolling. Gotta get on the floor," Harden said of the play. "Anytime in the game when you get on the floor, you have to sacrifice for your teammates. That's winning basketball. That's what we are trying to do around here."

"James Harden is James Harden," Giannis said. "He’s one of the top players in the league. We did our best and tried to trap him at the top; but, he is very smart and he was passing the ball to open guys."

Antetokounmpo led the Bucks with 27 points and 15 rebounds.

Ariza finished the game with 24 points. James Harden scored a team-high 33 points (9 for 14 field goals, 12 for 17 free throws). Josh Smith and Donatas Motiejunas each scored 14 points. Smith also added eight rebounds and eight assists. Corey Brewer chipped in 11 points; and, Terrence Jones scored 10.

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