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Kevin Durant scored 32 points, leading the Houston Rockets to a road win over the Eastern Conference-leading Detroit Pistons on Friday night, 111-104.
Durant reached the 30-point mark for the second consecutive game and the third time in his past five games.
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After the two teams were tied at halftime, 52-52, the Rockets outscored the Pistons 34-20 in the third quarter with Reed Sheppard tallying 10 points during the surge.
Detroit went on an 11-1 run powered by five points from Isaiah Stewart during the first two minutes of the fourth. That closed the margin to 87-83. But a 3-pointer by Jabari Smith Jr. steadied Houston and Alperen Sengun followed with a jumper to restore the lead to 92-83.
The Pistons cut the deficit to 94-91 on 3-pointers from Ronald Holland II and Daniss Jenkins. But the Rockets again kept Detroit at a distance with Amen Thompson and Durant knocking down jumpers to stop another Pistons run. A corner 3 from Josh Okogie with 5:19 remaining in the fourth quarter was effectively the knockout blow, giving Houston a 101-93 lead. Detroit could not cut the deficit to below six points from there.
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Sengun added 19 points for the Rockets, while Sheppard finished with 18. Thompson scored 15 points with 9 rebounds, and Smith grabbed 10 boards.
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The Pistons got only 12 points from Cade Cunningham, who shot 5-of-13 (including 0-for-4 on 3s) from the floor. The All-Star starter tallied 8 assists, but countered that with a game-high six turnovers. Jalen Duran led Detroit with 18 points, also grabbing 7 rebounds. Stewart scored 16 off the bench, while Holland added 13.
With the win, Houston rebounds from an overtime loss at Philadelphia on Thursday. The Rockets (27-16) have won five of their past seven games to keep a hold on the No. 4 spot in the Western Conference standings. The Phoenix Suns fell a game behind to the No. 5 seed with Friday’s 110-103 loss to the Atlanta Hawks.
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Detroit drops to 32-11 with the defeat, but still holds at least a 4.5-game lead over the Boston Celtics, pending Friday’s result versus the Brooklyn Nets. The loss ended a four-game winning streak for the Pistons. But they have still won eight of their last 11 games.
