PrintPistons Outlast Rockets In OT
Houston's struggles down the stretch doom team to 110-107 defeat
Jason Friedman
Rockets.com Staff Writer
Houston - Already playing shorthanded and their second game in as many nights, the last thing the Rockets wanted to see Sunday evening was overtime. They needed a laugher – to put away the Pistons early in order to avoid the potentially destructive effects of fatigue.
What they got, however, was a nail-biter and the results were as predictable as they were agonizing. Beset by tired legs, turnovers and missed shots down the stretch, the Rockets saw an 8-point lead evaporate over the course of the game’s final three minutes, prompting the need for the aforementioned extra frame. Once there, Houston’s players continued to be betrayed by the telltale signs of exhaustion and Detroit made sure to take full advantage, pulling away for a 110-107 victory.
“Sure liked the way our guys fought tonight,” said Rockets Head Coach Rick Adelman. “They just couldn’t finish the game.”
Houston’s loss tainted what was shaping up to be another solid performance under less than ideal circumstances for the Rockets. With Sunday’s tip-off taking place less than 20 hours after Houston had wrapped up Saturday night’s thumping of Minnesota, the Rockets knew their will would be tested against the Pistons, especially since the team was forced to play without the services of injured Trevor Ariza, Kyle Lowry and David Andersen.
Nonetheless, after a shaky first quarter which saw Houston fall behind by as many as 13 points, the Rockets seemed to find their legs, storming back into the game – and ultimately into the lead – behind big-time efforts from the likes of Luis Scola, Aaron Brooks and Kevin Martin, who combined to contribute 72 points. What’s more, Houston was further buoyed by the best game of rookie Jordan Hill’s young career, as the Arizona-product notched career-highs in both points (12) and rebounds (8).
But after taking a 100-92 lead on a Martin jumper with just 3:42 remaining, the Rockets simply seemed to run out of gas on both ends of the floor. Houston connected on just 2 of its final 12 shots in regulation and overtime, while turning the ball over on 4 different occasions. Those miscues resulted in several easy transition buckets for Detroit, as battle-tested veterans Tayshaun Prince (season-high 29 points) and Richard Hamilton combined to draw the Pistons even and force the extra frame.
In OT, Houston seized the advantage when Hill converted a 3-point play following a sweet feed from Brooks, but that proved to be the final field goal for the Rockets on the evening. From that point forward, Houston simply couldn’t buy a basket and, despite a slew of missed free throws by the Pistons over the course of the game’s final 12 seconds, the Rockets fell short after 3-pointers from both Brooks and Martin missed the mark.
“We made some bad decisions down the end of that game and they ran and made some easy baskets to get back in the game," lamented Luis Scola. "Then when they got back in the game it was 50-50 for everyone, we got the advantage and let it go.
“I don’t know what comes first, good defense or bad offense. I like to look at it from our side and I think that we made some mistakes and we should have won this game. We didn’t know how to close this game tonight. We are having this problem right now. We are running out of time right now and we need to win some games.”
QUOTES
RICK ADELMAN: (On game) “Sure liked the way our guys fought tonight, they just couldn’t finish the game.”
LUIS SCOLA: (On the end of the game) “We made some bad decisions down the end of that game and they ran and made some easy baskets to get back in the game. Then when they got back in the game it was 50-50 for everyone, we got the advantage and let it go and from then on it was on their side.”
(On poor execution down the stretch) “I don’t know what comes first, good defense or bad offense. I like to look at it from our side and I think that we made some mistakes and we should have won this game. We didn’t know how to close this game tonight. We are having this problem right now. We are running out of time right now and we need to win some games.”
DETROIT PISTONS HEAD COACH JOHN KUESTER: (On the game) “I thought we did some good things offensively; especially in the first half. We didn’t defend awfully well. In the second half when we needed to clamp down defensively we did a great job of holding them scoreless in the last few minutes. That was great. I was very pleased with that.”
(On Aaron Brooks’ play) “We did a nice job of trying to stay attached with him as well as we could. Will Bynum did an outstanding job of staying with him and not allowing him to get easy look and contesting a lot of his shots. Especially when he gets into the teeth of the defense. I thought Will, overall throughout the game, 11 assists – one turnover, did a nice job of getting other people involved especially for a guy that had not played that kind of minutes, came in and gave us a big boost. Jonas (Jerebko), Max (Jason Maxiell) and Tayshaun (Prince) used their length; especially when they got into the teeth of the defense itself. He is capable of getting guys open. They did have some good looks and fortunately for us they missed.
(On Jason Maxiell) “Max was phenomenal. Eight offensive rebounds and eight defensive rebounds. He came up with some great extra possessions at the end of the game and that’s so important especially when you have a lead. We had some good looks. Tayshaun had two great looks to put us over the hump. Tayshaun has been so consistent as of late, really becoming aggressive offensively. I’m really pleased with how he has been playing.”
DETROIT PISTONS GUARD WILL BYNUM: (On whether it was easier to start than come off the bench) “It was so much easier because I’m able to get guys in the right position and get guys the ball where they want the ball at. I’m able to control the game because I know I’m going to get a lot of minutes so I’m able to pick and choose when to be aggressive and score and when to get guys the ball.”
(On which stat he likes better, the one turnover or 11 assists) “The one turnover.”
DETROIT PISTONS FORWARD TAYSHAUN PRINCE: (On the game) “We knew it was going to be tough. They had a great game yesterday against Minnesota and they do a great job running their offense and they spread the ball out with their shooters. They’re constantly setting screens, backscreens, pick-and-rolls so it’s tough to defend those guys but the last couple minutes we buckled down and got some fast break opportunities and pretty much did a good job rebounding the basketball late and going to overtime we ran our system real well. Our defense stayed intact which is something that we haven’t been doing and it was good to do it today.”
(On Jason Maxiell and Will Bynum’s performance filling in) “Max did a good job of rebounding and also carrying us in the paint. Jonas - he does it all the time as well. Will did a great job finding the hot hand at different times in the game and at the same time trying to find his rhythm on offense and trying to find a shot for himself. We played very well at the right time in the game and that’s why we were able to pull it out.”
Got a question for Rockets.com? Send it to Jason Friedman. And for up to the second news and injury updates follow the Rockets and Jason on Twitter.
