HOUSTON (SportsRadio 610)- On the second night of a back-to-back and with Russell Westbrook on the bench, the Rockets saw their 3-game winning streak come to an end with a xxx-xxx loss to the Detroit Pistons Saturday night at Toyota Center.
Without Westbrook, who missed the game due to load management, James Harden led the Rockets with 39 points, but shot just 14-of-33 from the field and didn't attempt his first free throw until the 5:54 mark of the third quarter.
Clint Capela started the game by making his first five field goal attempts, but finished it by missing his final six. He did grab 19 rebounds and block three shots.
Danuel House and P.J. Tucker combined to shoot 5-for-19 as the Rockets drop to 17-9 on the season.
Houston led 32-30 after a quarter, but with Harden on the bench, the Pistons started the second quarter on an 11-2 run, taking a lead they'd never relinquish.
The Rockets pulled to within a bucket on two different occasions, but never got closer, and the Pistons scored the last seven points of the half, capped by Tony Snell's buzzer beating three.
Detroit built its lead up to 16 when Luke Kennard knocked down a pair of free throws with 4:54 left in the third quarter, and while the Rockets whittled the advantage down to seven, the Pistons closed the period with an 8-2 burst and entered the final quarter with an 88-75 lead.
Austin Rivers and Chris Clemons started the fourth quarter with back-to-back triples to bring the Rockets within seven, but they couldn't sustain the run.
Christian Wood answered with a layup and while Danuel House drained a three to make it a six-point game, the Pistons scored the next six points, pushing the lead to a dozen.
The closest the Rockets would get was five with less then 45 second remaining.
Clemons added 17 points off the bench for the Rockets, connecting on five three pointers.
The Pistons were led by Kennard's 22 points, Derrick Rose chipped in 20 points and 12 assists.
The Rockets will be back in action again Monday night when they host the San Antonio Spurs at Toyota Center.
