Kevin Porter Jr. had a career-high 50 points (9 during a 10-0 run in the fourth quarter), 11 assists and 9 3-pointers, and the Houston Rockets rallied from 17 points down in the second quarter to beat the Milwaukee Bucks 143-136 to end a 5-game losing streak.
The Rockets trailed 69-52 with 3:18 left in the second quarter. They outscored the Bucks 91-67 the rest of the way.
Porter’s step-back 3-pointer with 1:42 left made it 138-133, and Kelly Olynyk put it away with 43.8 seconds left, tipping in Jae'Sean Tate’s miss for a 142-136 lead.
During clutch time, the Rockets outscored the Bucks 16-9. Porter scored 11 of the Rockets’ 16 on 3 for 4 shooting and 2 for 2 at the line.
Christian Wood had 31 points (18 on 6 3-pointers) and 9 rebounds. Olynyk added 24 points and 13 rebounds, and D.J. Wilson had 15 points and a season-high 12 rebounds off the bench. The Rockets had 2 30-point scorers.
For the Bucks, Khris Middleton had a season-high 33 points and 8 assists, and Bryn Forbes added a career-high 30 points on 11 for 17 shooting off the bench. Jrue Holiday had 29 points, 10 assists and a season-high 4 blocks. Holiday scored 18 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter. The Bucks had 2 30-point scorers.
The Rockets made 25 3-pointers, 9 of them by Porter and 6 by Wood. The Bucks gave up 16 offensive rebounds, about 7 more than usual for the shots the Rockets missed. They outscored the Rockets 55-20 off the bench. The Rockets outscored the Bucks 34-23 in 9 minutes with Olynyk, Wood, Wilson, Porter and Tate on the floor together.