Pistons 116, Rockets 105
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Guard Reggie Jackson had 31 points and eight assists, and the Detroit Pistons built a 28-point first-half lead before holding off the Houston Rockets 116-105 Monday night at The Palace.
Detroit center Andre Drummond supplied 24 points and 13 rebounds despite shooting 4-for-18 from the free-throw line. Rookie small forward Stanley Johnson notched the first double-double of his career with 19 points and a season-high 10 rebounds, and small forward Marcus Morris chipped in 12 points and six assists for the Pistons (9-9).
Shooting guard James Harden, the league's second-leading scorer, had 29 points, nine rebounds and seven assists for Houston (7-11). Shooting guard Marcus Thornton added 18 points off the bench.
Drummond picked up two fouls in the first 2:50 and retreated to the bench, but the Pistons built a 16-point lead.
Once Drummond re-entered, he racked up 10 points and four rebounds as the lead ballooned to 28. Johnson provided a jolt, reaching his season high in rebounds midway through the second quarter.
Back-to-back threes by Jackson, who had 17 first-half points, gave Detroit its biggest lead at 60-32.
Detroit led 64-41 at halftime.
The Rockets used the "Hack-A-Dre" strategy during the middle of the third quarter. Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy was forced to take Drummond out with the center misfiring repeatedly from the foul line.
Sparked by their bench, the Rockets crept within 84-73 by the end of the quarter.
Houston also scored the first seven points of the fourth, including a 3-pointer by reserve point guard Ty Lawson, to cut Detroit's lead to four.
The Pistons regrouped and got the lead up to double digits again with 5:48 left on a Drummond tip-in. Harden scored 16 fourth-quarter points, but it wasn't enough.
NOTES: The Pistons are the only team to use the same lineup every game this season. Coach Stan Van Gundy doesn't want to change it despite the team's spotty play. "There are one or two things we could do but for the most part, we're playing the right people," he said. "They've got to play better." ... Detroit C Andre Drummond had four 20-rebound games before Monday. The only other NBA player who has one is Houston center Dwight Howard. ... The Rockets won eight of the last nine meetings. ... Houston SG James Harden's 197 free-throw attempts before Monday were the most by a guard through 17 games since Allen Iverson shot 213 at the start of the 2005-06 season. ... Rockets coach J.B. Bickerstaff has no plans to remove struggling guards Ty Lawson and Corey Brewer from his rotation. "I still believe in Ty and I still believe in Brew," he said.