Milwaukee Bucks (54-12, first in the Eastern Conference) vs. Houston Rockets (41-24, fifth in the Western Conference)
Lake Buena Vista, Florida; Sunday, 8:30 p.m. EDT
BOTTOM LINE: Houston faces the Milwaukee Bucks after James Harden scored 49 points in the Rockets' 153-149 overtime win over the Mavericks.
The Rockets are 15-7 outside of conference play. Houston leads the Western Conference averaging 118.7 points and is shooting 45.5%.
The Bucks are 19-7 in non-conference games. Milwaukee averages 118.7 points and has outscored opponents by 11.3 points per game.
The Bucks won the last meeting between these two teams 117-111 on Oct. 24. Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 30 points to help lead Milwaukee to the win.
TOP PERFORMERS: Harden leads the Rockets scoring 34.6 points per game, and is averaging 6.4 rebounds and 7.4 assists. Russell Westbrook is averaging 24.3 points and 7.2 rebounds while shooting 41.9% over the last 10 games for Houston.
Khris Middleton leads the Bucks averaging 2.4 made 3-pointers, while scoring 21 points per game and shooting 41.3% from beyond the arc. Antetokounmpo is averaging 11.9 rebounds and 22.4 points per game over the last 10 games for Milwaukee.
LAST 10 GAMES: Rockets: 6-4, averaging 119.7 points, 41.8 rebounds, 21.6 assists, 9.5 steals and 6.2 blocks per game while shooting 46.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 118.3 points on 46.2% shooting.
Bucks: 6-4, averaging 112.7 points, 50.5 rebounds, 24.1 assists, 7.4 steals and 4.6 blocks per game while shooting 45.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 108.1 points on 42.3% shooting.
INJURIES: Rockets: Eric Gordon: out (ankle).
Bucks: Pat Connaughton: day to day (illness), Marvin Williams: day to day (groin), Eric Bledsoe: day to day (illness).
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by , and data from ,.
