Recap: Houston Rockets 118 – Detroit Pistons 110
After having a successful month of February, the Houston Rockets returned home to start off March vs the Detroit Pistons.
The Game
In the first quarter, there wasn’t anything going wrong for the Rockets. The first quarter is usually slow for the Rockets, but as of late, they are “off to the races.” They were doing everything that they were expected to do. Whether it was coming out with energy, to finding good looks, the Rockets were rolling early. James Harden led the way with 12 points in the quarter. Dwight Howard and Terrence Jones also had themselves a quarter. No sign of defense being shown by the Pistons. They were lucky that they could hit some of their shots. Remember the Rockets vs Kings game where the Rockets were off to a tremendous start? This is how this game started out. After 1, the Rockets led 41-20.
To the second quarter they went. The Rockets were now looking to continue where they left off. This quarter, however, wasn’t as “easy” as the first. They were basically going back-and-forth. Both teams were making shots and playing decent defense. If it weren’t for the Rockets giving their starters some rest, the Rockets could have increased the lead by a lot. Instead, they chose just to keep the lead safe. With Chandler Parsons being ruled out of tonight’s game due to illness, that gave Omri Casspi minutes off the bench. Omri Casspi was red hot in the second quarter hardly missing a shot. With Jordan Hamilton in the starting lineup, we got to see Casspi getting some minutes which he definitely deserved. At the half, the Rockets were still in front, 69-46.
After the half, the Pistons started to make the game interesting. In the first half, their shot selection was terrible. In the second half, they started to drive towards the basket and then make some defensive stops to try and get back in the game. Although they did trim the deficit, the Houston Rockets knew they could not let this game get away. The main thing that brought the Pistons back in this game was that they kept their starters in while the Rockets’ starters were taking a breather. The Rockets bench assignment was to maintain the lead. They did, however the Pistons won the third quarter and were heading into the 4th only trailing by 15.
Into the final period, the Rockets led 95-80. The Pistons just kept hanging around. The Rockets’ starters played basically the whole 4th quarter, as they needed offense and defense down the stretch. Patrick Beverley had himself a quarter. Who knows what kind of defense the Pistons were using, but Beverley was left open. Huge three pointers were made by Patrick Beverley down the stretch, and the Houston Rockets held on to defeat the Detroit Pistons, 118-110.
Tonight’s Box Score & Highlights
Although this game didn’t need to be this close, at least the Houston Rockets got the win. After this game, the Houston Rockets will now have 2 days off to prepare for one of the most intriguing matchups on the season. They face the Miami Heat Tuesday at 7PM. That game can be seen on CSN Houston or NBA TV. Keep in mind however, Houston area viewers will most likely not be able to see the game on NBA TV due to it being blacked out.