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 Harden played his part in the gang rebounding effort, recording his
third triple-double this season as the Houston Rockets parlayed a
run bridging the final two quarters into a 103-93 victory over the
Detroit Pistons at Toyota Center.
Harden finished with 38 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists, hitting
double figures in the last two categories on consecutive possessions
early in the fourth quarter. Harden followed a pair of defensive
rebounds with outlet passes to forward Corey Brewer and guard Jason
Terry, with Brewer tallying a fast-break layup before Terry added a
3-pointer in transition to help Harden record his fifth career
triple-double.
The Rockets (42-20) finished with a 55-50 advantage on the boards
despite a 21-rebound effort from Pistons center Andre Drummond.
Detroit forward Greg Monroe added eight rebounds to his team-high 19
points, but Houston offset that with Harden and reserve center Joey
Dorsey, who chipped in with 10 rebounds (six offensive) in 17
minutes.
"The bigs are always going to have trouble," Harden said. "They're
always going to be caught up with other bigs wrestling with them so
our guards have to do a better job of helping the bigs rebound
throughout every single game."
Brewer and Terry helped the Rockets score the opening 11 points of
the fourth quarter, completing an 18-0 run that floored Detroit
(23-38). The Pistons had pulled to within 73-69 on a 3-pointer from
forward Tayshaun Prince with 1:38 left in the third quarter before
former Pistons forward Josh Smith sank two free throws to get
Houston rolling.
"We just stopped containing the ball and they got a lot of good
looks right at the rim," Monroe said. "We just have to contain the
ball better."
Rockets forward Terrence Jones departed in the second quarter with a
right hip strain yet returned later and posted 17 points, eight
rebounds and three blocked shots, including two emphatic rejections
on one defensive possession during the Houston run. Brewer added 15
points off the bench, igniting the Rockets with his rim attacks in
the first half.
Detroit dropped its fifth consecutive game and ninth in succession
in Houston. Despite recording 19 offensive rebounds, 12 by Drummond,
the Pistons finished at a deficit in second-chance points at 20-18.
Dorsey proved vital, playing more minutes than the six prior games
combined.
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"It's big because when your number gets called, you never know when
the opportunity is going to come again," Dorsey said. "So, when I
get out there, every minute I'm trying to get at least two or three
rebounds, set good screens for my teammates, and do everything right
on the court so I can stay on the court."
Harden had seven turnovers, six in the first half, but was
irrepressible as a scorer. His crafty conversion off an inbounds
pass with 37.5 seconds left in the third preceded his three-point
play with 1.8 seconds left that pushed the lead to 80-69 entering
the fourth. The Rockets led by as many as 24 points in the fourth
before a fruitless Detroit rally.
"We didn't rebound well enough," Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy said.
"Our offense is just a major struggle right now. I thought we got
better shots tonight, but we just couldn't make anything."
NOTES: In his first five games since joining the Pistons via trade
from the Oklahoma City Thunder, Detroit G Reggie Jackson shot
.353/.211/.933 with an effective field-goal percentage 94 points
lower than that from his 50 games with the Thunder. When asked to
offer some perspective or a theory regarding Jackson and his poor
shooting numbers, Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy said, "I have no idea
why." ... Rockets G James Harden wasn't moved to elation upon
learning that the NBA announced that a foul should have been called
on Memphis F Zach Randolph when Harden drove to the basket in the
final stages of Wednesday night's 102-100 loss to the Grizzlies.
"It's still a loss," Harden told the Houston Chronicle.
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