Bucks rally after Bogut injury in Houston

When Andrew Bogut went down with a sprained ankle early in the first quarter at Houston, there was naturally reason for concern.Bogut is a key component to the Bucks' attack and without him, the team has struggled this season.So it wasn't exactly surprising that the Bucks found themselves trailing at the half against the Rockets, who came into the game with seven straight victories.What was surprising is the way the Bucks responded.Milwaukee outscored the Rockets, 63-48, in the second half and held off a late Houston rally down the stretch for a 105-99 victory, the Bucks' first in Houston since 1999."They had us in the first half," head coach Scott Skiles said. "They went into halftime with momentum. They came out, we didn't show a whole lot of signs of life. We really started moving the ball, knocking down our shots, stepped up our defense and held on long enough to get a 'W.'"It was a very strange game."Skiles was right about that. Monday was one of the Bucks' best victories of the season, but it also included plenty of statistical anomalies. For example:- Milwaukee won its third consecutive road contest after losing the first eight of the season away from the Bradley center- The Bucks got 66 points from their bench, compared to just 15 for Houston.- The Bucks hit 14 three-pointers, shooting 48 percent from behind the arc. They came into the game 25th in the league, hitting threes at a 30.1 percent clip.Anyway you look at it though, a victory is a victory and the Bucks now move on to Chicago Friday to take on the Bulls, owners of the best record in the Eastern Conference (16-4).They've been playing very well on the road," Skiles said. "Now we've won three in a row the Knicks, the Heat and the Rockets those are good clubs. I was just proud of the way we hung in there and kept battling and when we took off we really took off."Whether Bogut will be ready when the Bucks visit Chicago, remains to be seen. His injury came late in the first quarter, she he came down hard trying to grab a rebound. He limped off the court and didn't return.Bogut said that x-rays were negative and that he expects to undergo an MRI tomorrow, once the swelling has subsided. His team's performance helped ease the pain of another setback in a tough start to the season."They played a hell of a game," Bogut said. "We stuck with it and got the win. The defense at the start of the fourth was very very good. Makes me feel better that the guys stepped up and got the win."