Rockets at Bucks
The Houston Rockets will try to take advantage of the Milwaukee Bucks for the second time in a span of six days when the teams meet Monday in Milwaukee. Behind 38 points from James Harden, the Rockets cruised to a 111-92 win over the Bucks at home Wednesday night, their sixth win in the last seven meetings.
Houston followed that up with an ugly loss to the almighty Golden State Warriors before opening a five-game road trip with an impressive 119-95 triumph at Memphis. Sam Dekker made the most of his first career start with a personal-best 30 points on 12-of-19 shooting, and Harden finished with 29 points and 10 assists as the Rockets shot 51.3 percent from the field. "I did feel very comfortable from the jump and felt very locked in," Dekker told reporters after hitting 6-of-11 3-pointers. "When your first few go in, it really puts you at ease and (you) just kind of think everything is going to go in after that." The loss to Houston last week is one of five straight for Milwaukee, which dropped a 109-97 decision at Miami on Saturday.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, ROOT Southwest (Houston), FSN Wisconsin (Milwaukee)
ABOUT THE ROCKETS (34-13): Dekker was filling in for the ailing Ryan Anderson, who has seen just nine minutes of action over the past four games for Houston but is expected to return to the lineup on Monday. Guard Eric Gordon chipped in 21 points off the bench but hit only 4-of-18 3-pointers over the last contests. The veteran was 7-of-17 from long range and finished with 25 points in last week's win over the Bucks.
ABOUT THE BUCKS (20-23): While the losses have piled up, Milwaukee also felt compelled to move forward Jabari Parker to the bench Saturday night after he reportedly discussed the contents of a private team meeting with a media member. Parker, who hinted that he was not well received during a heated exchange in the meeting, had 16 points and seven rebounds in 32 minutes in his reserve role. Giannis Antetokounmpo had 24 points and 10 boards for his third straight double-double, including a 32-point, 11-rebound effort against the Rockets.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The teams entered Sunday's action tied for eighth in the NBA in 3-point shooting (36.7 percent).
2. Bucks C Greg Monroe scored nine points or fewer in three straight games after reaching double figures in his previous nine outings.
3. Rockets PG Patrick Beverley had 12 points, nine rebounds, five assists, three steals and two blocks last week versus Milwaukee.