Pistons' fourth-quarter rally falls short in loss to Rockets

DETROIT — Cade Cunningham and Jalen Green faced each other for the third time since entering the league as the No. 1 and No. 2 picks of the 2021 NBA Draft.

They split their first two games, with Cunningham getting the best of his draftmate during their first meeting in November 2021. At the time, Alperen Sengun was an unknown prospect who the Rockets landed in a trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder following his selection at pick No. 16.

All three players since have established themselves as cornerstones for their respective franchises. But on Sunday afternoon at Little Caesars Arena, Cunningham and Sengun took center stage in the draftmate dual, with the Pistons suffering a 101-99 loss to the Rockets. The Pistons dropped their sixth consecutive game to Houston and fell to 4-7 on the season.

"I thought our guys did a great job in the scrap; there were times when they beat us to the ball, which is what they've done and what's helped them win basketball games," coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. "I thought our guys fought the fight. We gave ourselves an opportunity, but (seven) offensive rebounds in the fourth quarter; it's just too tough to overcome."

Cunningham's triple-double run ended against the Rockets, but he still put together another solid performance with 26 points on 10-of-21 shooting, nine assists and eight rebounds. He scored 12 points during the second quarter, which led to the Pistons' 45-43 lead at the half.

The Pistons' lead came after a sluggish start. Detroit began the day shooting 1-of-8 from the field. The Rockets capitalized on their early struggles behind the play of Green and Sengun, which led to Houston holding an early 11-2 lead.

Green scored seven of his 15 points within the first four minutes. However, he spent the rest of the night struggling from the field, shooting 6-of-17, while Sengun led the Rockets with 27 points (11 of 16 FG) and 10 rebounds.

The game was a slugfest until Reed Sheppard's 3-point field goal gave the Rockets an 80-67 lead with 10:06 left in the fourth quarter. Houston appeared to be on the verge of taking control, but Detroit embarked on a 21-7 run over the next five minutes.

Tobias Harris' and-1 fadeaway over Dillon Brooks gave the Pistons an 88-87 lead. A few possessions later, Cunningham completed an and-1 attempt to provide Detroit with a 93-92 lead with 3:22 left. Green helped the Rockets regain control with a fadeaway jumper on Houston's next possession.

"I thought our guys consistently did the right thing offensively," Bickerstaff said. "We just didn't knock down shots early in the game. ... Credit to our guys for playing the right way and helping one another create for each other. They just made a couple more plays tonight than we did."

The Pistons and Rockets traded baskets over the final three minutes. Sengun split a pair of free throws, allowing Detroit a chance to tie the game. With Houston leading 101-98 with eight seconds left, the Rockets fouled Cunningham in an attempt to deny a game-tying triple. He split the two on purpose, and the ball was recovered by Jaden Ivey.

After gaining possession, Harris had a chance to tie the game at the foul line, but fell short with his first attempt. Isaiah Stewart added 16 points and eight rebounds, while Malik Beasley finished with 15 points on 5-of-12 shooting.

"To start the game tonight, the first group, we got punched in the mouth," Cunningham said. "We fought back, but we can't get punched in the mouth to start the game. We've had a lot of games where the ball just bounced the other way. We're in all these games. They're going to (eventually) fall our way, for sure, but we're just going to keep on fighting back. We're going to win some games."

Up next

The Pistons close their three-game homestand on Tuesday against the Miami Heat at 7 p.m. The game also will mark the start of the NBA’s Emirates NBA Cup 2024. The Pistons will be a part of East Group B, which also will feature contests against the Milwaukee Bucks, Indiana Pacers and Toronto Raptors.

Observations vs. Rockets

Pistons unable to keep the Rockets off the offensive glass

When it came to establishing a game plan for the Rockets, Bickerstaff had one objective: keep them off the offensive glass. Houston went into the game averaging a league-best 14.7 offensive rebounds. Against Detroit, they recorded 17. The Pistons did a solid job keeping them off the glass until the fourth quarter when they gave up seven offensive rebounds while conceding 11 second-chance points.

Detroit had a rough time containing Tari Eason, who accounted for four offensive rebounds amid a near-double-double performance with 18 points and nine boards.

"We got to get them off the glass; that was one of the main points of the game plan," Cunningham said. "We got to put ourselves in a better position to win the game. We did fight back, but we got to keep them off the offensive glass."

Generosity comes at a price

Both the Pistons and Rockets struggled with ball security, and both teams capitalized on their mistakes. Detroit scored 14 points off of 12 Rockets turnovers, while Houston recorded 19 amid the Pistons 18 giveaways. Jaden Ivey, in his worst game of the season thus far, registered a game-high six turnovers while finishing the night with eight points on 4-of-15 shooting, 0-of-4 from behind the arc.

Cunningham joins elite company

Late in the second quarter, Cunningham joined elite company by becoming the fourth-fastest player in franchise history to reach 3,000 career points and the sixth player in league history to notch 3,000 points, 900 assists, and 150 steals in 150 games or fewer.

By achieving the feat in 149 games, Cunningham surpassed Grant Hill, Isiah Thomas and Bob Lanier, who each reached the milestone in 150 career games. However, he trails Kelly Tripucka (128 games), Dave Bing (132) and Bailey Howell (147).