The Detroit Pistons appeared to have momentum following Thursday’s road win over the Brooklyn Nets. A home game against the Houston Rockets, who own the NBA’s worst record, presented an opportunity for the Pistons to build.
It ended in embarrassing defeat. The Pistons fell to the Rockets, 117-114, thanks to poor execution down the stretch and an offense that went cold after a hot start. Alec Burks, making his second straight start, tallied 21 points. Bojan Bogdanovic scored 18, and Jaden Ivey finished with 16 points, seven rebounds and five assists.
Burks gave the Pistons the lead with under two minutes left with a 3-pointer, and then split a trip at the line with 1:20 remaining to extend the lead to three, 112-109. After that, almost everything went wrong for Detroit.
Detroit Pistons center Jalen Duren drives against Houston Rockets forward Tari Eason during the first quarter Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023 at Little Caesars Arena.
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Jalen Duren fouled Kenyon Martin Jr. on a layup attempt with 34.7 seconds left, and Martin finished through contact. He missed the and-1, but Jae’Sean Tate came up with the offensive rebound and Martin got a layup to fall following Tate’s miss to give Houston the lead. Detroit’s following possession turned into a jump ball, which Burks lost against Jabari Smith Jr.
Ivey’s layup with 9.5 seconds left cut the deficit back to two, but the Pistons (13-38) were out of timeouts and Eric Gordon, who led all scorers with 24 points, iced the game with four free throws in the final 20 seconds. Detroit was crushed on the offensive glass, as the Rockets grabbed 16 boards there for 21 second-chance points.
The Rockets were without 2021 third overall pick Jalen Green, who missed the game with a right calf contusion, as well as fellow top scorers Kevin Porter Jr. (19.2 points per game) and Alperen Sengun (15.5).
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Author : Detroit Free Press
Publish date : 2023-01-29 02:55:37
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