Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bucks beat James Harden's Rockets in duel of MVP frontrunners

In a clash of the two top contenders for NBA MVP this season, the debate didn’t get any easier on Tuesday.

For the second time this season, the Milwaukee Bucks and Houston Rockets met on the court. It was a duel headlined by Giannis Antetokounmpo, the absurdly athletic wing who’s powering the Bucks to the top of the NBA standings, and James Harden, the reigning MVP who is topping last season’s performance by averaging more than 36 points per game.

On Tuesday, it was Antetokounmpo and the Bucks who came out on top 108-94, though neither player didn’t exactly set the world on fire.

Bucks shut down James Harden and the Rockets

After a competitive first half, the Bucks ran away with the game and there wasn’t much Harden could do to stop them.

Bucks guard Eric Bledsoe defended Harden as well as anyone has all season, holding the star to 23 points on 9-of-26 shooting and 1-of-9 from deep. More tellingly, he picked up just one personal foul while guarding one of the biggest foul magnets in NBA history. With Harden limited, the Rockets posted just 94 points, one of their 10 lowest scores of the season.

That defensive performance was highlighted by this emphatic block from behind.

While Harden had a tough night at the office, Antetokounmpo didn’t fare much better on the stat sheet. The Greek Freak finished with 19 points on 7-of-15 shooting, 14 rebounds and four assists.

So it wasn’t really an MVP-worthy night for either player, moreso with Harden. That won’t make the decision for MVP any easier, as both players are still posting incredible numbers.

Really, the game was more a showcase for Antetokounmpo’s supporting cast, even though the team was missing Nikola Mirotic and Malcolm Brogdon. Bledsoe in particular showed up with 23 points and seven assists along with his defense.

However, that supporting cast also received yet another tough blow.

Bucks lose Donte DiVincenzo for the year

The Bucks might have won their 56th game of the season, but they also lost a piece of their depth in rookie Donte DiVincenzo on Tuesday.

The 17th overall pick in last year’s draft will miss the rest of the season with bilateral heel bursitis in his left foot, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

While DiVincenco only averaged 4.9 points per game this season, he was also part of the team’s plan to fill the hole left by Malcolm Brogdon’s injury. The Bucks’ starting shooting guard is out until at least the first round of the playoffs with a foot injury, and now the team has to turn to Pat Connaughton for more minutes at guard.

That plan went well on Tuesday at least, as Connaughton posted 14 points on just five shots with seven rebounds and four assists.

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