Rockets Welcome Bucks to Town for Tuesday Night Tilt
Toyota Pair: Part One. Home, Sweet Home. Battle of Fifths.
Ending an odd stretch in the schedule, the Rockets prepare to host a pair of home games as the squad readies for their fourth consecutive set of back-to-back games. First up, Houston hosts the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday night. The Rockets are coming off a disappointing loss in Utah to the Jazz on Saturday night. Meanwhile, Milwaukee has been rolling, as the Bucks enter this matchup riding a four-game winning streak. Milwaukee acquired Kyle Kuzma from the Washington Wizards for Khris Middleton at the trade deadline, and so far the deal has been paying dividends for the Bucks.
After starting the season pretty equally at home and on the road, it’s become clear of late: Houston is a much better team playing at home at the Toyota Center. The Rockets are 18-9 at home this season, compared to 17-13 on the road. Houston is also looking for revenge after losing a thrilling one-point nail-biter to the Bucks in the first matchup between these teams, back on November 8th in Milwaukee. It was also the game that ended the Bucks season-high losing streak, and essentially helped turn their season around after a disastrous start.
This matchup is also a battle of fifth place teams in their respective conferences. While the Bucks have climbed up for a tie for the fourth and fifth spot in the East, the Rockets have fallen all the way from second to fifth place in the West. And if Houston can’t turn their fortune around soon, they could be in jeopardy of slipping into a Play-In spot (seeds seven through ten), and having their season end much quicker than anticipated.
Tonight, the Rockets will still be without Fred VanVleet, but Houston proved they could beat a solid opponent when they took down the Timberwolves at Toyota Center on Friday night. The Bucks boast the NBA’s most explosive offensive duo in Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard. Both players have been Rocket-Killers throughout their careers, but especially Lillard. If the Rockets come ready to play, they should be able to hang with the Bucks, and eventually dispose of them as they did to the Wolves on Friday night. Houston is 13-2 with two or more rest days entering a matchup… so at least expect a more valiant effort from the Rockets, and another thrilling chapter in what’s been an exciting season.
Toyota Center: Houston, Texas
Jersey Colors:
Milwaukee Bucks (32-24): Green
Houston Rockets (35-22): “City Edition” White
Tip-Off: 7:00 PM CT
TV: Space City Home Network, NBA League Pass