Rockets lose 117-111 to Bucks in 2019-'20 season opener

Posted: October 24, 2019 -- 11:59 p.m. CT

HOUSTON, TX (Toyota Center) -- The Houston Rockets were defeated by the Milwaukee Bucks 117-111 Thursday night in the NBA season opener for both teams. Russell Westbrook electrified his teammates and the Rockets' fans with 24 points, 16 rebounds, and 7 assists. The last Rocket not named James Harden (twice) to post those numbers was Yao Ming (41 points, 16 rebounds, 7 assists) vs. Atlanta on 2/22/04.

James Harden didn't shoot the ball well (2 for 13 field goal attempts); but, Harden finished the game with a game-high 14 assists to go along with 7 rebounds. Harden also had 7 turnovers; and, he was whistled for 5 fouls.

"I just didn't play well offensively the entire night," Harden said after the game. "Give them (the Bucks) credit, they came back and played well the second half, but this one is on me. I wasn't aggressive enough, and that's what it was."

After the game, Westbrook said he needs to do more to help Harden.

"I got to do a better job of helping him out, especially when teams are guarding him like that," Westbrook said. "That's why I'm here – to be able to create for him, so he doesn't have to create and do everything. Like he’s accustomed, so when that happens, I got to do a better job of figuring out how – kind of waited too late to be able to do that."

Giannis Antetokounmpo scored a game-high 30 points in only 28 minutes before fouling out with 5:18 remaining in the fourth quarter. Giannis added 13 rebounds and 11 assists for the 15th triple-double in his NBA career.

Houston led 66-50 at halftime despite Harden and Westbrook combining for 20 points on 4 for 12 field goal shooting. Harden scored 15 points in the first half thanks 10 for 10 free-throw shooting. Houston made 9 three-point shots in the 2nd quarter to help outscore Milwaukee 36-27 in the period.

Five different Rockets players made at least 1 three-point shot in the quarter: Danuel House Jr, PJ Tucker, and Ben McLemore each made 2 of 3 three-point attempts in the quarter; and, Eric Gordon was a perfect 2-for-2 from three-point range. Harden made 1 of his 2 three-point attempts in the quarter.

The Rockets led by as much as 16 points in the third quarter; however, Milwaukee outscored the Rockets 19-12 in the final 7:07 to cut Houston's lead to 87-78 after three quarters. Houston shot 30.4% (7 for 23) from the floor in the third quarter.

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Houston was scoreless the first 2:01 of the fourth period. Giannis scored Milwaukee's first 8 points in the fourth quarter which sliced Houston's lead to 89-86 with 9:59 on the game clock. Milwaukee led 91-90 on a putback layup by forward Ersan Ilyasova.

Then, Westbrook lit a fire under the Rockets with a fastbreak layup; plus one free throws; and a thunderous two-hand slam dunk off a smooth bounce pass from Harden. Houston led 95-91 with 7:42 on the clock.

Milwaukee answered with a 10-0 run to lead 101-95. Then, when Giannis picked up his sixth foul of the game, Houston center Clint Capela split two free throws for a 101-96 Bucks' lead at the 5:18 mark of the final period.

Westbrook swished a three-point shot and split two free throws to cut the Rockets' deficit to 101-100; however, Milwaukee's Khris Middleton sank a three-point shot followed by a 10-foot hook shot from Brook Lopez to stretch the lead to 106-101.

Brook was scoreless entering the fourth quarter; but, he scored 11 points in the final quarter including 6 points in the final 3 minutes of the game.

PJ Tucker made his fifth three-point shot of the game to pull the Rockets within 3 points (111-108); but, Wes Matthews swished a huge three-point shot to push the margin back to six. Westbrook scored a driving layup; but, Brook Lopez scored in the post to push the lead back to 6.

The Rockets did not get closer than 4 points (115-111) with 32.2 seconds left in the ball game.

The Bucks shot 57.1% (16 for 28 from the floor including 5 for 10 from three) in the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, the Rockets shot 22.7% (5 for 22, 2 for 16 threes) in the fourth.

"I thought we were pretty good defensively to be honest with you," Mike D'Antoni said after the game. "We didn't get a few breaks in the game and they got away from us. They're good. I mean, they're a legitimate title contender and Giannis (Antetokounmpo) is a handful. You got to make shots to beat teams like that. They made the big ones and we didn't."

Milwaukee outscored the Rockets 39-24 in the fourth period.

"When we lose games, it's about our defense," Westbrook commented after the game. "And (when) we focus and we pride ourselves on doing that, and we got to do a better job on that, starting with myself."

NOTES:

The Rockets scored 27 fast break points Thursday night after scoring a total of 4 fast break points in the two games vs. Milwaukee last season. The Rockets high for fast break points in 2018-19 was 27 at Golden State on 2/23. Houston was 6-1 when having 20 or more fast break points last season.

Houston shot 11-of-21 (52.4%) from behind-the-arc in the first half but 5-of-27 (18.5%) in the second half and 33.3% overall. The Rockets were 15-17 when shooting 33.3% or worse from 3-point range in 2018-19.

With Thursday's win, the Bucks have won three straight against the Rockets for the first time since March 24, 1998 to March 16, 2000. Houston has now lost four of its past five season openers after winning three straight prior. Milwaukee has won three straight season openers after losing nine of its previous 10.

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