The Detroit Pistons (6-9) have lost to the Houston Rockets (9-5) 99-96, continuing the team’s downward spiral in recent weeks.
The Detroit Pistons have now lost four straight games, including two at the Palace of Auburn Hills, after missing three critical free throws down the stretch.
The Pistons had started tonight’s game strong, leading by as much as 12 points in the first quarter. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was a big part their early success, scoring seven of his 25 points in the opening frame.
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As the night went on though, the Pistons started to struggle. By halftime, the Rockets had taken their first lead of the game, outscoring Detroit 33-21 in the second quarter.
It would take Detroit until midway through the fourth quarter to take the lead back thanks to a 17-3 run led by a balanced offensive attack.
The Rockets would soon take back control late in the game after Caldwell-Pope missed the game-tying free throw with eight seconds left. After a missed free throw on the other end of the court by James Harden, the Rockets immediately fouled Andre Drummond on the rebound, who then missed both shots from the stripe to seal Detroit’s fate.
While the Pistons kept the game close towards the end, they did not play well for the most part.
The Rockets outscored the Pistons 46-32 in the paint tonight and made about one-third of their three-point attempts (10-31). While they had less turnovers than Houston, Detroit had also allowed more points off those chances.
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Caldwell-Pope was also the only starter to shoot the ball well tonight, making 60 percent of his shots. While Drummond, Ish Smith and Marcus Morris scored double-digits as well, they also all shot 33 percent from the field.
One positive to take from the loss is their ability to stop Harden. While he scored a game-high 28 points, he also had six turnovers, five missed free throws and made just six shots.
The Pistons continue to fall further down the conference standings while the Rockets shoot upward with their third straight win.
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