Derrick Rose produced a double-double in a sparkling effort off the bench as the short-handed Detroit Pistons raced past the host Houston Rockets 115-107 on Saturday.
Rose finished with 20 points and 12 assists and steered the Pistons to victory down the stretch with a series of mid-range jumpers and deft passes to open teammates. Detroit, playing without Andre Drummond and Reggie Jackson, lost Blake Griffin (sore knee) at the intermission. They weren't missed, as four reserves scored in double figures to underscore the collective effort.
Luke Kennard paced the Pistons with 22 points, while Bruce Brown added 16 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and four steals. Rose, Markieff Morris (15 points) and Christian Wood (11 points, 12 rebounds) were instrumental in helping Detroit take the lead for good in the second period.
Detroit dominated the Rockets not only in bench points (56-31), but also in fast-break points (26-6).
James Harden led the Rockets with 39 points and seven assists, but had only one assist after the first quarter. Houston received 17 points off the bench from Chris Clemons and 12 points and 19 rebounds from Clint Capela. The Rockets were without Russell Westbrook, who sat in the second game of a back-to-back. Ben McLemore started in his stead and scored 13 points.
For every stretch where the Rockets appeared poised to seize control, the Pistons fashioned a run, starting in the second quarter after Houston erased an 18-10 deficit with a 19-7 spurt keyed by two Clemons 3-pointers and additional production from Austin Rivers (14 points) and McLemore.
But after Kennard torched the Rockets with 12 first-quarter points, Langston Galloway grabbed the baton and took over in the second with 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting.
Suddenly it was the Rockets climbing uphill, and after Houston cut the deficit to 55-52 on a Danuel House Jr. tip-in, the Pistons closed the period with a 7-0 push capped by a Tony Snell buzzer-beating 3-pointer. Rose delivered the assist after darting through the Houston defense, a sign of things to come.
The Pistons led by double digits until a Harden step-back 3-pointer got the Rockets within 80-73 with 2:51 left in the third. But Detroit scored the next six points and led by 13 heading to the fourth.
Houston never got closer than five points down the stretch, with that coming on a Clemons three with 41 seconds remaining.
--Field Level Media
