HOUSTON – The Milwaukee Bucks went 1-2 on their road trip after losing 112-108 to the Houston Rockets Saturday night at the Toyota Center. The Bucks trailed by as many as 21 points and ultimately made it close in the end, but never truly threatened to win the game in the closing quarter.

The Rockets (18-16) saw seven different players reach double figures in scoring while the Bucks really only had Giannis Antetokounmpo (48 points, 17 rebounds) to lean on. Milwaukee fell to 25-11 and has lost three of its last four games.

Giannis Antetokounmpo scores 48 points, but rest of Bucks go cold

Milwaukee has had one of the league’s best offenses – and it scored at a historic level in December (NBA record 131.5 points per game) – but they couldn’t make a thing on Saturday. The shooting touch was so icy that even Damian Lillard (3), Khris Middleton (2) and Cameron Payne missed free throws.

Giannis Antetokounmpo was 16-for-25 and scored 48 points (most by a Rockets opponent on the year) while the rest of the team was a combined 19-for-51 for 60 points.

"He’s playing as hard as he can, trying to figure out ways to get us back in the game and put us in a position to win the game," Middleton said.

Antetokounmpo, playing in front of Hall of Fame Rockets center Hakeem Olajuwon for the first time since spending time with Olajuwon in the summer, kept the Bucks afloat but no one else was able to consistently make a bucket.

Milwaukee cut the lead to 108-101 with 1 minute, 26 seconds left in the fourth quarter, but Lillard missed a three-pointer with 56 seconds left to prevent the tide from really turning. Overall, the Bucks just couldn’t pair enough stops with baskets to get over the hump.

Lillard finished with 18 points on 5 of 16 shooting while Middleton had 10 on 3 of 9.

In the first half, Antetokounmpo was 6-for-10 from the field and 4-for-6 from the free throw line for 16 points. The rest of the team combined was 9-for-28 (32%), including 4-for-17 (23.5%) from behind the three-point line for 27 points.

Lillard was just 1-for-8 for four points while Middleton was 1-for-4 for four points.

Meanwhile, Houston overcame a 1-for-8 start to the game to finish the half shooting an even 50% from the field. They turned it on with a 13-0 run to end the first quarter up 29-11. They then had runs of 8-1 and 9-2 in the second quarter to build up a 20-point margin at the half (63-43).

The Rockets have been one of the better defensive teams in the league, coming into the game second in opponent scoring (109.9 points per game) and fourth in defensive rating (111.2 points allowed per 100 possessions). But in the first matchup between the teams on Dec. 17, they couldn’t slow down the Bucks in a 128-119 loss – and that was with their best perimeter defender in Dillon Brooks playing nearly 35 minutes before his ejection in the final seconds of the game.

But Brooks was out Saturday night with a right oblique strain.

Houston was also without key reserve Tari Eason (lower left leg soreness), who provides size in the frontcourt at 6 feet, 8 inches. He played about 30 minutes in the game against the Bucks in Milwaukee.

The Rockets were also on the second night of a back-to-back, having been handled at home by Minnesota, 122-95.

But, the Bucks could not take advantage despite having the night off on Friday.

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Bucks switch up lineup in second half

Down 20 at the half, Bucks head coach Adrian Griffin elected to have rookie Andre Jackson Jr. start the second half other than Malik Beasley. Beasley had picked up two quick fouls and played just 11 first half minutes.

Just a few minutes into the third quarter Jackson Jr. and Houston’s Jabari Smith Jr. went chest-to-chest and had to be separated as Damian Lillard knocked down a three-pointer. Houston called timeout, but the interaction was reviewed by the officials for a hostile act.

Smith Jr. was assessed a Flagrant 1, and Jackson Jr. was given a technical foul. Jackson Jr. made his free throw, and Fred VanVleet made the technical free throw for Houston.

“Just healthy competition," Jackson Jr. said of the dustup. "Me and Jabari have played a few times in the past so just some healthy competition here. Just try to stay away from that in the future.”

Jackson Jr., listed at 6 feet, 6 inches and 210 pounds, defended Houston’s 21-year-old center Alperen Şengün (6-11, 243) – with doubling help from Giannis Antetokounmpo or Brook Lopez if Şengün got the ball deep into the post. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Jackson Jr. was hit with three quick personal fouls in the frame, but Griffin stayed with the rookie.

"Just bringing the energy, you know what I mean," Jackson Jr. said of matching up with the Houston big man. "Bringing energy, I’m going out there, talking on defense, communication, getting to a front and trying not to let him just catch it with me on his back, trying to keep him from spinning baseline. Know he likes to do that. Just try to kind of frustrate him and just get him to slow his play down.”

Jackson Jr. would come up with a couple of steals later in the quarter also.

“Just switching up defense a little bit," Bucks head coach Adrian Griffin said. "I thought we just needed a little bit of energy and that’s what ‘Dre brings. He just brings the energy. ‘Beas’ has been great for us, he’ll continue to be great for us, but I think when you’re down like that at halftime, just trying to give the team a spark. And I thought ‘Dre did a tremendous job. I think he did an tremendous job. We were able to switch up our matchups, throw out something different. Ball bounce here or there may be a different outcome.”

Beasley would only play 16 minutes, his fewest since playing 14 against Brooklyn on Nov. 6. Jackson Jr. played 12 and had two rebounds and two steals while MarJon Beauchamp played 23 minutes, his most since playing 22 on Nov. 30. Beauchamp scored five points, had four rebounds and three assists.

“They came in, playing with great energy, they took the challenge, and a lot of pride out there," Middleton said of Jackson Jr. and Beauchamp. "They were a big reason why we played better in that second half."

Cameron Payne exits game early

Bucks point guard Cameron Payne hit his head hard on the court after a fall with 11 seconds left in the third quarter. He stayed on the court to make one of two free throws, and during the break between quarters Bucks trainers spoke with him. He stayed in the game, but playing the first 47 seconds of the fourth quarter he was subbed out for AJ Green. Payne immediately headed for the Bucks locker room with Bucks trainer Scott Faust.

He was ruled out with neck soreness and will be evaluated in Milwaukee.

Payne finished with one point and one assist in eight minutes of action.

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5 numbers

1-3 Bucks record in the final game of road trips this season.

2 Wins by the Rockets over the Bucks in the last three seasons (Dec. 11, 2022).

26 Technical fouls on Bucks players this season after Andre Jackson Jr. was hit with one in the third quarter. It was the rookie’s third of the year and second in two games.

7-9 Bucks record when they shoot less than 50% from the floor. They shot 46.1%, including 26.5% from behind the three-point line.

69 Milwaukee’s free-throw percentage on Saturday night, as they were just 29-for-42 from the line. The Bucks entered the game 16^th in the NBA at 78.1% despite being No. 3 in free throw attempts (26.5 per game).

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Giannis Antetokounmpo scores 48 points but Bucks fall to Rockets