Halftime Report
The Rockets fell flat on their face against the Timberwolves on Friday, but memory of that harsh defeat doesn’t seem to have tripped them up today. The Rockets are fully in control with a 63-43 lead over the Bucks.
The Rockets came into the game with some extra motivation after the defeat they were dealt the last time these two teams faced off. We’ll see if they’re able to flip the script or if it’ll just be more of the same.
Who’s Playing
Milwaukee Bucks @ Houston Rockets
Current Records: Milwaukee 25-10, Houston 17-16
How To Watch
- When: Saturday, January 6, 2024 at 8 p.m. ET
- Where: Toyota Center — Houston, Texas
- TV: Bally Sports Wisconsin
- Follow: CBS Sports App
- Online streaming: fuboTV (Try for free. Regional restrictions may apply.)
- Ticket Cost: $25.27
What to Know
The Milwaukee Bucks’ road trip will continue as they head out to face the Houston Rockets at 8:00 p.m. ET on January 6th at Toyota Center. The Rockets took a loss in their last contest and will be looking to turn the tables on the Bucks, who come in off a win.
The Bucks and the Spurs couldn’t quite live up to the 248-over/under that the experts had forecasted. Milwaukee snuck past San Antonio with a 125-121 win on Thursday.
Giannis Antetokounmpo continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, dropping a double-double on 44 points and 14 rebounds. He has been hot recently, having posted ten or more rebounds the last six times he’s played. The team also got some help courtesy of Damian Lillard, who dropped a double-double on 25 points and ten assists.
Meanwhile, it’s hard to win when you don’t work as a unit and post 13 fewer assists than your opponent, a fact the Rockets found out the hard way on Friday. 2024 welcomed they with a 122-95 beatdown courtesy of Minnesota.
Milwaukee is on a roll lately: they’ve won 20 of their last 26 matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 25-10 record this season. As for Houston, their loss dropped their record down to 17-16.
As for their game on Saturday, the Bucks are the favorite in this one, as the experts expect to see them win by 6.5 points. This contest will be their 21st straight as the favorites (so far over this stretch they are 9-11 against the spread).
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: The Bucks haven’t given up the ball easily this season, having only averaged 13.1 turnovers per game. However, it’s not like the Rockets struggle in that department as they’ve been averaging only 12.5 turnovers per game. Given these competing strengths, it’ll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Odds
Milwaukee is a solid 6.5-point favorite against Houston, according to the latest NBA odds.
The line has drifted a bit towards the Bucks, as the game opened with the Bucks as a 5-point favorite.
The over/under is set at 237.5 points.
See NBA picks for every single game, including this one, from SportsLine’s advanced computer model. Get picks now.
Series History
Milwaukee has won 7 out of their last 10 games against Houston.
- Dec 17, 2023 – Milwaukee 128 vs. Houston 119
- Dec 11, 2022 – Houston 97 vs. Milwaukee 92
- Oct 22, 2022 – Milwaukee 125 vs. Houston 105
- Dec 22, 2021 – Milwaukee 126 vs. Houston 106
- Dec 10, 2021 – Milwaukee 123 vs. Houston 114
- May 07, 2021 – Milwaukee 141 vs. Houston 133
- Apr 29, 2021 – Houston 143 vs. Milwaukee 136
- Aug 02, 2020 – Houston 120 vs. Milwaukee 116
- Oct 24, 2019 – Milwaukee 117 vs. Houston 111
- Mar 26, 2019 – Milwaukee 108 vs. Houston 94
