Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 26 points and grabbed 17 rebounds, passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the Bucks’ all-time career rebounding leader. Damian Lillard added 39 points as the Bucks beat the Houston Rockets 128–119 on Sunday night.

There are two picture cutouts of Giannis Antetokounmpo in a white Bucks uniform on this white and gold graphic. One shows him boxing out, and the other shows him grabbing a rebound. In the background, there is a blurry picture of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar getting a rebound. The text on the picture says, “Most rebounds in franchise history.” Leaders of franchises: 1. Giannis Antetokounmpo (6,162 points) Two: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | 7,161

The Milwaukee Bucks love guys who can do a lot of different things. Oscar Robertson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar both did well in this group by playing basketball the right way. But Giannis Antetokounmpo is the new king of the town. The Greek Freak put on a show and set Texas Tech’s Alperen Sengun on fire.

Antetokounmpo passed Abdul-Jabbar for the team’s scoring record even though he had already passed the Hall of Famer for the record for most rebounds. He also has the most assists in Bucks history. Along with Michael Jordan (Chicago), LeBron James (Cleveland), and Kevin Garnett (Minnesota), he is the only player in NBA history to lead a team in all three of these categories.

They beat the Rockets, ending their five-game winning streak, and won their 13th straight home game. They are now 14-1 at home. Texas (13-10) lost 2-9 on the road.

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Khris Middleton scored 14 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter, which was when the Bucks finally got ahead. About 5:26 left, Middleton made a 3-pointer to give the Bucks a 112-106 lead. Antetokounmpo then made a three-point play to make it 118-111 with 3:44 left.

NBC Sports shows Giannis Antetokounmpo becoming the Bucks’ all-time top rebounder.

The Bucks (19-7) got 18 more points from Brook Lopez, and Bobby Portis scored 11 points off the bench.

With 38.9 seconds left, Dillon Brooks was kicked off the court for two technical fouls. Rockets coach Ime Udoka was also given two technicals when he came out on the court. After the techs, Lillard made 3 of 4 free throws to tie his season high in points. He also set up 11 goals.

With 22 points, Fred VanVleet led the Rockets. Alperen Sengun, the big, gave them 20. Brooks scored 18 more points, and Jabari Smith Jr. scored 16.

After Tari Eason missed a shot, Antetokounmpo grabbed it and broke Abdul-Jabbar’s record with 7:46 left in the fourth quarter. During his 11th season with Milwaukee, he grabbed 17,162 boards, which was his 14th of the game.

Antetokounmpo beats the Rockets and breaks Abdul-Jabbar Bucks’ record for most rebounds in a career – The San Diego Union-Tribune

During the next break, the Bucks showed a video of Antetokounmpo’s best rebounds plays from his career. The crowd at Fiserv Forum gave him a huge cheer.

Lopez and Lillard made back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Bucks an 83-72 lead in the middle of the third quarter and force Houston to call a break.

After a review, it was decided that Brooks had made an offensive foul by hitting Pat Connaughton in the face with his right arm. This meant that the basket was taken away.

In the last few minutes of the third quarter, the Bucks were ahead by as many as 14 points. But Jeff Green made a 3-pointer and two free throws to bring the Rockets’ lead down to 100-91 going into the fourth.

The Bucks got off to a quick start thanks to Lillard, who scored 15 points and had five assists in the first quarter. They went ahead 33–28. Lillard made 5 of 6 shots from the field and 2 of 3 from beyond the arc.

Andre Jackson gave the Bucks a boost in the middle of the second quarter. He tipped in a missed shot and scored on a fast-break layup in a row, giving Milwaukee a 52–43 lead. He had nine points at the end of the half after making a corner 3-pointer.

The Rockets made 58.5% of their shots from the field, but Milwaukee still had a 71-60 lead at halftime. Antetokounmpo contributed 17 points and eight rebounds in addition to Lillard’s 20 points.

Guard Malik Beasley missed his second straight game because of a sickness that was not COVID. He was not able to play for the Bucks.