If there’s a playbook for excelling in the first game of a back-to-back, the Houston Rockets executed it perfectly on Sunday. Houston put up a season-high point total and achieved their largest margin of victory in a 143-107 road win over the Chicago Bulls.
Seven Rockets players scored in double figures, and all five starters played fewer than 29 minutes, setting them up for a strong follow-up performance against the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday night.
Alperen Sengun led the charge with his second consecutive triple-double, amassing 20 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists. Fred VanVleet contributed a game-high 28 points, along with seven rebounds and seven assists. Jalen Green was highly efficient, scoring 18 points on nine shots, while Amen Thompson added 16 points and 11 rebounds in just 22 minutes off the bench.
This win marked Houston’s fifth in a row and their seventh in the last eight games. The Rockets have been thriving on their defense and ability to convert stops into transition baskets, averaging 22.4 fast-break points per game during their winning streak. Against the Bulls, they scored 32 points in transition.
The Bucks faced a setback with a 115-114 road loss to the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday, ending a modest two-game winning streak. Despite this, Milwaukee has shown signs of building momentum.
Khris Middleton has yet to play this season, while Damian Lillard (concussion) missed his third straight game against the Hornets. The close contest in Charlotte and back-to-back wins over Toronto and Detroit highlight what the Bucks can achieve despite a shorthanded roster.
Giannis Antetokounmpo has been a standout, averaging 33.7 points, 12.3 rebounds, 5.8 assists, and 2.3 blocks in the six games since his brief injury absence on November 4. The Bucks’ overall team contributions provide optimism for significant improvement when Lillard and Middleton are back on the court.
