Brook Lopez

Martin threw down a monster jam over Lopez, but his reaction may have been better than the dunk itself.

Brook Lopez (Milwaukee Bucks) with a dunk vs the Houston Rockets, 05/07/2021

MILWAUKEE (AP) Brook Lopez had 24 points and Khris Middleton scored 21 of his 23 in the second half to help the Milwaukee Bucks beat the short-handed Houston Rockets 141-133 on Friday night for their fifth consecutive victory. The Bucks (43-24) tied Brooklyn for second place in the Eastern Conference standings. The Bucks also have the tiebreaker advantage over Brooklyn because they won two of their their three regular-season meetings.

The Bucks defeated the Rockets, 141-133. Giannis Antetokounmpo recorded 17 points (8-11 FG), 11 rebounds and seven assists for the Bucks, while Brook Lopez added a team-high 24 points (7-8 FG), along with seven rebounds in the victory. Kenyon Martin Jr. tallied a career-high 26 points and seven assists, along with seven rebounds for the Rockets in the losing effort. The Bucks improve to 43-24 on the season, while the Rockets fall to 16-51.

The surging Milwaukee Bucks will carry a four-game winning streak into their closing six-game stretch of the regular season with a contest Friday against the visiting Houston Rockets. Milwaukee (42-24) followed back-to-back victories over the Brooklyn Nets to begin the week with a 135-134 nail-biter Wednesday against Washington. Brook Lopez's tip-dunk with 6.8 seconds remaining proved to be the difference against Washington, giving the Bucks a four-point lead ahead of a Bradley Beal 3-pointer and Wizards steal in the closing seconds.