The NBA’s return to play continues and the 22 remaining teams in the league will play eight regular season seeding games before the NBA playoffs kick off in mid-August. Tonight, we’ll get to see the Milwaukee Bucks go up against the Houston Rockets in an East vs West matchup. Read on as we’ve got all the details you need to watch a Bucks vs Rockets live stream from anywhere in the world – don’t miss a second of the NBA action.
Bucks vs Rockets live stream
The Bucks vs Rockets game starts at 8.30pm ET / 5.30pm PT tonight on ABC in the US. If you’re in Canada, you can catch the game on SportsNet at the same time, while Sky Sports is offering up a late night broadcast in the UK at 1.30am BST and Australian viewers can catch it on ESPN at 10.30am AEST on Monday morning. If you don’t have the access to the right channel, read on for a look at all the NBA live streaming options.
The Bucks are currently in 1st place in the Eastern Conference with 53 wins and just 12 losses before the NBA suspended its season earlier this year. Milwaukee holds a comfortable six and a half game lead over the Toronto Raptors who are in second place which means that the team can afford to make a few mistakes on the court tonight. The Bucks may end up needing this breathing room as point guard Eric Bledsoe and shooting guard Pat Connaughton who both tested positive for Covid-19. As of now, it’s still unknown whether either player will take part in tonight’s game against the Bucks.
The Rockets meanwhile were in sixth place in the Western Conference with 40 wins and 24 losses before the shutdown. The team has been doing things a bit differently this season by experimenting with a small-ball lineup but this could change with the restart. During a recent scrimmage against the Boston Celtics, Rockets shooting guard Eric Gordon injured his left ankle pretty badly and he could be out of commission for the next two weeks giving Danuel House, Robert Covington, Ben McLemore and Austin Rivers more time on the court.
These two teams haven’t played a game against one another since October of last year when the Bucks took the lead from the Rockets during the second half of the game to win 117-111. Will the Rockets get their revenge or will the Bucks’ winning streak continue during the NBA’s return to play?
Whether you’re a Bucks fan in Milwaukee, a Rockets fan in Houston or just want to tune in to watch basketball again for the first time in months, we’ve got you covered. Follow our guide below for details on how to watch the Bucks vs Rockets tonight and get a top-quality NBA live stream from wherever you are in the world.
How to watch NBA blackout games and stream basketball from abroad
You may not be able to watch tonight’s Bucks vs Rockets game using your usual cable TV or streaming service, due to coverage blackout rules in the US or international geo-blocking restrictions.
When this is is the case, the simplest and most reliable solution is to use a VPN service, which VPN masks your IP address – and therefore your location – when you visit a website. On top of that, it gives you the ability to reroute your device’s internet connection through a server in a different country or stage, thereby getting you access to coverage that might not otherwise be available – even though you probably pay for it.
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Plus, you can try it out for free with a 30 day money-back guarantee, so if you’re not sold on being able to watch sports from around the world you can always claim your cash back. There’s a massive range of supported devices on offer, from Smart TVs, Fire TV Stick, PC, Mac, iPhone, Android phone, iPads, tablets etc. And if you subscribe to ExpressVPN now, you’ll also get 49% off the usual price as well as 3-months extra FREE if you take out an annual plan (the best value option).
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Bucks vs Rockets live stream: watch the NBA tonight in the US
Tonight’s game will be broadcast at 8.30pm ET / 5.30pm PT on ABC, a channel that’s easily accessible if you’re signed up for cable TV. You can also stream ABC live online but you will need to login with the credentials from your cable provider to do so.
If you’re not a cable subscriber, you’ll want to consider signing up for YouTube TV for $64.99 a month if you’ve already cut the cord. It may not be the cheapest streaming service but it’s got ESPN, TNT, ABC and NBA TV, as well as a great number of regional sports networks – including those linked to Fox and NBC, making it the easiest way to get all the channels you need to watch basketball in one place.
However, plenty of other good options exist and we’ve listed a few of our favorites below to make things easier for you. Note that all prices listed are per month.
If you’re not too happy about picking up a YouTube TV subscription just for sports, you can also combine an NBA League Pass with an NBA TV subscription for under $50. You will, however, still be subjected to blackout restrictions for in-market games, in which case you’ll need to grab a quality VPN if you live in the same area your favorite team is based.
- Sling TV from $30 – The cheapest way to go if you just want coverage of nationally televised games, Sling TV’s Orange package gets you ESPN and TNT while NBA TV will cost you an additional $10 a month for the NBA TV add-on. Regional coverage is extremely limited, though – especially for NBA fans, as Sling doesn’t offer ABC or any Fox Sports regional channels. Free trial.
- Hulu from $54.99 – Its Hulu + Live TV offering is a good place for NBA fans to turn as it includes ESPN, TNT and ABC, plus many regional sports networks including those run through Fox and NBC. However, NBA TV isn’t on the the menu, so it falls just short of being the full works. Free trial.
- AT&T TV Now from $50 – AT&T Now’s Plus package gives you access to ESPN, TNT and ABC but does not offer NBA TV. By upgrading to the service’s $70 per month Max package, you can also get access to regional coverage including that provided by Fox and NBC Sports. Free trial.
- FuboTV from $54.99 – Not the best choice for basketball fans given the price and the stage of the season we’re at, FuboTV is a sports-focused streaming service that gives you access to TNT and NBA TV, plus a number of local networks including those managed by Fox Sports and NBC. Free trial.
Rockets vs Bucks live stream: how to watch the NBA in the UK
If you’re in the UK, you’ll want to tune into Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Mix or Sky Sports Arena at 1.30am BST to catch the Rockets vs Bucks game tonight. The channel is operated by Sky, but you can also watch its channels with BT and Virgin Media TV packages.
However, if you’re only going to be watching the NBA, there are more cost effective options than signing up for the full commitment of a Sky contract.
A Now TV Sky Sports Pass offers all 11 Sky Sports channels to watch and can be cancelled at any time. As well as the NBA, there’s also loads of football, cricket, golf, and F1 action, with pricing that starts at £9.99 for a day’s use.
That’s fine if you just want to watch tonight’s games, but we’d highly recommend the better value Monthly Pass for the majority of viewers. £33.99 gets you coverage of the rest of the season as well as early playoff games as well as the full month of content from other sports as well.
If you’re really only interested in an NBA live stream, you could also consider an NBA League Pass, which is an all-in-one subscription that offers every game left in the season on a range of devices. An annual pass comes in at £42.99, which is a far better value than the £24.99 monthly pass, but you can also grab a seven day free trial if you’re just looking to watch a Rockets vs Bucks live stream.
If you’re looking to watch tonight’s game from abroad, you might be geo-blocked out of some of these viewing options. Using a reliable VPN can easily get around this so you can get back to the game.
How to watch the Bucks vs Rockets: live stream the NBA in Canada
SportsNet and TSN are hosting the rest of the NBA season’s televised games in Canada and you’ll want to tune into SportsNet at 9pm ET / 6pm PT to watch tonight’s Bucks vs Rockets game.
As both of these channels are widely available on cable, watching the NBA online shouldn’t be too difficult for Canadian viewers. For tonight’s game, simply head to the SportsNet Now website and enter the credentials from your cable provider to watch the Bucks vs Rockets.
If you’ve already cut the cord but still want to watch the NBA on SportsNet, you can sign up for the network’s streaming service SN Now for $19.99 a month. Additionally, there is also SN Now+ which gives you access to additional NHL games for $27.99 a month or $9.99 for a 7-day pass.
You’ll also be able to watch the Bucks vs Rockets online with NBA League Pass, with only Raptors games being subject to blackouts. That’s not a problem, however, as a VPN can easily swap your location so when the Raptors do step out onto the court you can still live stream it all.
How to get a Bucks vs Rockets live stream and watch the NBA online in Australia
Basketball fans in Australia have two options to tune in to the 2019/20 NBA regular season restart.
The first is through cable and, more specifically, Foxtel. It offers ESPN, which is the home of NBA basketball Down Under, but will require you to commit to a contract.
If that’s not for you, then excellent value streaming service Kayo Sports also has you covered for all things ESPN and can be cancelled at any time – so we’d recommend looking into this option first.
Costing either $25 or$35 monthly, it’s far cheaper than Foxtel and you can grab a 14-day FREE TRIAL to test it out. Perhaps best of all, a single subscription can be used simultaneously across multiple devices, meaning you can share one with family or friends and pay less.
Lastly, hardcore NBA fans can grab an NBA League Pass for full coverage of the rest of the season, as well as loads of added value content, for an annual fee.
The Bucks vs Rockets game will be shown on ESPN beginning at at 10.30am AEST on Monday morning
NBA League Pass: the best way to live stream the NBA online?
If you’ve been shopping for ways to pick up a Bucks vs Rockets live stream online, then you’ve likely come across the NBA League Pass. As the league’s official streaming service, it offers coverage of plenty of games and is available all around the world.
However, if you’re in the US, you’ll find a reduced-price subscription now available for $28.99. The caveat is that it doesn’t include any nationally televised games. That means you’ll still have to turn to ESPN, ABC, NBA TV or TNT.
The solution? Adding an NBA TV subscription to your account (available for $19.99) will give you access to full coverage, or you can bundle League Pass Premium with an NBA TV package for $59.98 for every game in all its commercial-free glory.
Note that NBA League Pass and NBA TV subscriptions are subject to blackout rules, meaning that if you live in the same area as your favorite team, you won’t be able to watch them – unless you utilize the VPN workaround as explained above, of course.
NBA League Pass is an international service, so you’ll be able to find different packages to suit international markets as well. In the UK, for example, a £42.99 annual fee gets you access to every remaining NBA game, without blackout restrictions or qualms over nationally televised broadcasts.
As ever, if you’re out of the country you subscribed to NBA League Pass in, it’s likely you can use a VPN to get around these restrictions – based on comprehensive testing, we rate ExpressVPN as the best and it offers a free trial so you can check it out, no strings attached.