ROCKETS DEFEAT BUCKS
Key revelations from Rockets’ impressive win over Bucks
Feb 26, 2025, 8:16 am
Jalen Green had a big night! Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images.
Jalen Green had 25 points and Alperen Sengun added 23 to lead the Houston Rockets to a 100-97 win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday night in a game where Amen Thompson was ejected for a hard foul on Giannis Antetokounmpo.
The game was tied at 95-all when Sengun made 1 of 2 free throws to put Houston on top. He made two more free throws with 30 seconds left to make it 98-95.
Brook Lopez missed a 3-pointer, but a turnover by Sengun gave the Bucks the ball back and a dunk by Antetokounmpo cut the lead to one with 8.1 seconds to go.
Green added two free throws to make it 100-97 and Damian Lillard was fouled and missed the first free throw before a double lane violation on the second one triggered a jump ball.
Lillard came away with the ball and his 3-point attempt bounced off the rim.
The Bucks were down by 2 with about 4 1/2 minutes left when Thompson pulled Antetokounmpo down from behind by the head and neck as he went up for a shot in the lane. The play was reviewed and determined to be a flagrant foul 2 and Thompson was ejected.
Antetokounmpo had 27 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Bucks, who had a four-game winning streak snapped.
Takeaways
Bucks: Milwaukee needs to work on offensive consistency after failing to score in the fourth quarter until Lillard made two free throws with about six minutes to go.
Rockets: Houston needs to do a better job of capitalizing on offense when its defense shuts teams down. They only scored seven points in the first six minutes of the fourth when they held Milwaukee scoreless.
Key moment
Sengun’s free throws that put the Rockets up for good.
Key stat
Milwaukee scored 12 points in the fourth quarter.
Up next
The Rockets host San Antonio on Wednesday night and the Bucks host Denver on Thursday night.
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Oswald Peraza hit a two-run single in the ninth inning to help the Los Angeles Angels snap a three-game losing skid by beating the Houston Astros 4-1 on Saturday night.
Peraza entered the game as a defensive replacement in the seventh inning and hit a bases-loaded fly ball to deep right field that eluded the outstretched glove of Cam Smith. It was the fourth straight hit off Astros closer Bryan Abreu (3-4), who had not allowed a run in his previous 12 appearances.
The Angels third run of the ninth inning scored when Mike Trout walked with the bases loaded.
Kyle Hendricks allowed one run while scattering seven hits over six innings. He held the Astros to 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position, the one hit coming on Jesús Sánchez’s third-inning infield single that scored Jeremy Peña.
Reid Detmers worked around a leadoff walk to keep the Astros scoreless in the seventh, and José Fermin (3-2) retired the side in order in the eighth before Kenley Jansen worked a scoreless ninth to earn his 24th save.
Houston’s Spencer Arrighetti struck out a season-high eight batters over 6 1/3 innings. The only hit he allowed was Zach Neto’s third-inning solo home run.
Yordan Alvarez had two hits for the Astros, who remained three games ahead of Seattle for first place in the AL West.
Key moment
Peraza’s two-run single to deep right field that broke a 1-1 tie in the ninth.
Key Stat
Opponents were 5 for 44 against Abreu in August before he allowed four straight hits in the ninth.
Up next
Astros RHP Hunter Brown (10-6, 2.37 ERA) faces RHP José Soriano (9-9, 3.85) when the series continues Sunday.