Rockets vs Bucks Recap: Reed Sheppard Hits 9 Threes in Houston Win
Reed Sheppard ignited Houston with nine threes, but a shorthanded Bucks squad clawed back, forcing a nail-biting finish.
On Wednesday, April 1, the Houston Rockets defeated the Milwaukee Bucks 119-113 at Toyota Center, but not without making it interesting. Milwaukee walked into this one extremely shorthanded. No Giannis, no real depth, just eight available bodies and a patchwork starting group- all the makings of a wire-to-wire Houston win.
And early on, it looked exactly like that. The Rockets came out clean, connected, and unselfish, with seven assists on their first eight buckets. Reed Sheppard wasted no time setting the tone, knocking down two quick threes as Houston built a nine-point lead before the first timeout that stretched to 15 at its peak in the opening frame.
Milwaukee didn’t shoot it well early, but an 8-0 run late in the first trimmed the lead to seven. The second quarter belonged to Sheppard. Three more from deep- way deep.
By halftime, he had 15, forcing Milwaukee to guard him well beyond the arc, and in doing so, opening everything else up. Houston took a 54-44 lead into the break, even with Kevin Durant struggling to find his shot and the supporting cast shooting unevenly across the board. To Milwaukee’s credit, they found real production from unlikely places.