Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo walked away with 37 points in another MVP-caliber scoring effort against the Houston Rockets on Nov. 9.

What Antetokounmpo and the Bucks did not walk away with, though, was the win, losing 122-115 to a Rockets team aided by a fourth quarter swing on the scoreboard set in motion by Kevin Durant, Alperen Şengün, Jabari Smith Jr. and Reed Sheppard. 

After the game, Antetokounmpo spoke about the Bucks’ offense becoming stagnant en route to failing to close out the game. 

“I think we just gotta do a better job just moving the ball,” Antetokounmpo said during a postgame interview. “It’s the way you close games last year, the way you close games [a] couple years ago is not going to be the same way we close out games this year. Again, as I said, the ball was sticking a lot.”

Moving the ball did not appear to hinder the Bucks’ play throughout the first three quarters of the game, as, including Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee had six players finish with double-figures. 

Ryan Rollins and Myles Turner helped Antetokounmpo stomach the offensive load in the first unit, scoring 19 and 13 points, respectively, while players such as Cole Anthony, Kyle Kuzma and Bobby Portis, changed the tenor of the game at times coming off the bench. Anthony, Kuzma and Portis combined for 34 points. 

Even with plenty of contributions on the offensive end, however, the Bucks still fell short, getting outscored 40-30 across the final 12 minutes of gameplay. 

“I think we were supposed to win this game today,” Antetokounmpo said. “We didn’t. We gave them the game. Tomorrow we have another one. This [is] why [the] NBA is great. Doesn’t matter if you win or lose, tomorrow you have another one. You have another chance to redeem yourself. But tomorrow is a must-win. We cannot lose two in a row.”

The Bucks play the Dallas Mavericks in Texas tomorrow at 8:30 p.m. EST. 

The Mavericks have gotten off to a shaky start to begin the 2025-26 NBA season and sit at 3-8 through their first 11 games. Throughout one stretch from Nov. 1 to Nov. 7, Dallas lost four consecutive games. 

The Mavericks, who tout No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, Cooper Flagg, did win their last game against the Washington Wizards, but an experienced team like the Bucks, who have a player in Antetokounmpo averaging north of 33 points a night, should have success against a team five games below .500.