With Cade Cunningham back in the lineup after returning from injury, the Detroit Pistons received a big boost to their rotation against the Houston Rockets on Friday night, but it was the team’s second unit that made the biggest impact despite suffering a 111-104 loss at home. 

In a matchup that pitted the two Thompson twins, Ausar and Amen, against each other in head-to-head fashion several times throughout the game, which is a change from previous iterations of their battles. With Ausar guarding Amen on and off, the Rockets’ twin put forth a complete game with 15 points, nine rebounds and seven assists when the clock struck triple zeros. 

As for Ausar, brother from the Motor City battled foul trouble in the second half after picking up his fifth personal in the third quarter. But when Ausar was on the floor, Thompson looked more assertive and energetic than usual. Perhaps it was the matchup against his brother that provided motivation, but Thompson posted 12 points, eight rebounds, three assists, two steals and a monstrous block in another showing that displayed just how versatile the fourth-year point forward truly is. 

When comparing the Rockets and Pistons on the night, it becomes clear that Houston held a significant edge from the charity stripe, and that advantage propelled the squad to a difficult road victory on the second leg of a back-to-back. The Rockets were sent to the free throw line for six more shots than Detroit, and Houston connected on seven more attempts than the Pistons, which is equal to the margin of victory on Friday night. 

Just one game prior, the Rockets struggled from the charity stripe against the Philadelphia 76ers. In that contest, Houston missed 12 shots from the free throw line, but the team quickly rallied on short rest to correct their issue in Motown. As for the Pistons, their 71% mark from the free throw line was not enough against the Rockets, and that rate is not efficient enough for postseason basketball either. 

Despite his age at 37-years old, Kevin Durent seemed relatively unaffected by the lack of rest with another 30-point performance against Detroit. For Houston, big man Alperen Sengun added another 19 points to check in as the team's second leading scorer, but KD was the Rockets' go-to player when in need of a bucket. Durant dialed back the clock once again, and he had some fun with the Detroit fans sitting court-side as he was seen jawing with the crowd all game long. 

From an offensive standpoint, the Pistons were faced with man-to-man defense for much of the first half before the Rockets flexed their coverage into a zone right before halftime. The Pistons entered the break knotted with the Rockets at 52 points apiece, and Detroit center Jalen Duren was well on his way to another strong performance by that point. 

Duren, who is an All-Star hopeful this season, racked up 10 points and five rebounds by halftime, but JD’s pace slowed after the break. When anchored down in the post, Duren was unable to capitalize on matchups against smaller players, and the Detroit center hoisted too many soft shots considering the size advantage that he held in the low post against Houston. However, Duren did score his 3,000th career point on Friday night, so there is mild cause for celebration for JD despite the loss. 

From a stylistic standpoint, the Pistons’ were in a much better rhythm when the second unit was on the floor. Late in the second quarter, Detroit worked to erase a healthy deficit through their tried and true recipe of tough, physical defense that sparks easy looks in transition. With Ron Holland mixing it up and putting his body in harm’s way, Detroit’s backups were able to claw back into the game not once but twice against the Rockets, but their efforts were for naught with the Pistons’ suffering a single-digit loss in a game that was quite winnable against another playoff-caliber squad. 

The Pistons fall to 32-11 on the season, and their next game will be on Sunday, Jan. 25 at home against the Sacramento Kings. 

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