Christian Wood scored 21 points against his former team to lift the visiting Houston Rockets (10-20) to a 116-107 (38-30, 24-19, 26-26, 28-32) win over the sliding Detroit Pistons (4-24) on Saturday.
| Player of the Game | |
|
EFF
19
|
| Eric Gordon | |
| Points | 18 |
| Accuracy | 7-11 |
| Rebounds | 1 |
| Assists | 5 |
Wood added eight rebounds to his ledger as all five Houston starters scored in double figures.
Eric Gordon added 18 points and five assists, Garrison Mathews 16 points on 4-of-9 3-point shooting, and Jae'Sean Tate 11 points, five rebounds, three assists, and three steals.
Kenyon Martin Jr. (10 points, 11 rebounds) added a double-double off the bench as Houston shot 49.5 percent from the floor.
The Pistons suffered their 14th consecutive loss, committing 20 turnovers and missing 26 of 36 from the 3-point range. Cade Cunningham had 21 points and 11 assists, while Saddiq Bey led Detroit with 23 points.
Bey pulled the Pistons to within 65-58 on a 3-pointer with 10:04 left in the third quarter only for Mathews to stroke a 3 that pushed the Houston lead to 15 points just under five minutes later.
Detroit immediately responded with an 8-0 run keyed by 3-pointers from Cunningham and Bey, but a series of turnovers to open the fourth quarter pushed the Pistons in a deeper hole.
Following a David Nwaba baseline drive, Mathews, D.J. Augustin, and Martin recorded steals in succession, with the Martin steal leading to a three-point play from Nwaba and a 95-75 lead.
Pistons rookie Luka Garza scored nine points during a sudden burst that enabled Detroit to slice that deficit in half, but Gordon hit a 3-pointer that helped the Rockets reclaim control for good.
The defense was optional in the opening period, with Houston starting 9 of 16 from the floor with four 3-pointers en route to a 23-21 lead at the 4:51 mark.
The Pistons countered by missing just five of their first 14 shots while making 3 of 5 from behind the arc, but four turnovers allowed the Rockets to establish a modest lead, one Houston extended to 38-30 entering the second period.
When Augustin sank a 3-pointer early in the second, the Rockets took their first double-digit lead at 41-30, an advantage they extended to 14 points before Bey sliced that margin to 52-44 with a baseline dunk.
But when Josh Christopher beat the halftime buzzer with a driving layup, the Rockets carried a 62-49 lead into the break having shot 51 percent overall including 6 of 13 on 3s.
Rockets: Christian Wood 21 (8 REB), Eric Gordon 18 (5 AST), Garrison Mathews 16 (5 REB), David Nwaba 13 (7 REB), Jae'Sean Tate 11 (5 REB), Josh Christopher 10 (7 AST), Kenyon Martin Jr. 10 (11 REB).
Pistons: Saddiq Bey 23 (4 REB), Cade Cunningham 21 (7 REB, 11 AST), Isaiah Stewart 16 (8 REB), Frank Jackson 12.
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