Pistons at Rockets
The Houston Rockets are regaining their swagger and look to extend their winning streak to five games when they host the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday. The Rockets are looking for a sweep of a three-game homestand before the teams engage in a rematch in Detroit on Friday.
Houston looked lost offensively while failing to reach 100 points in four consecutive games earlier this month but followed that up with an average of 115.8 during the winning streak, including a season-best output in Saturday's 132-112 win over the Sacramento Kings. The victory moved the Rockets over .500 for the first time as the squad has quickly recovered from a dreadful 1-5 start. Detroit won four of its previous five games and built a 20-point halftime lead en route to a 113-102 home win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday. "At times we sat down and really played well defensively," Pistons power forward Blake Griffin told reporters. "And we moved the ball offensively well - at times, again. We didn't put together a full 48 minutes, so we've got to be better when it comes to that. You get a lead like that, you've got to finish it."
TV: 8 p.m. ET, FS Detroit, AT&T SportsNet Southwest (Houston)
ABOUT THE PISTONS (8-6): Detroit picked up four technical fouls in the victory over Cleveland and holds the dubious NBA lead with 15, and coach Dwane Casey vows to work on that issue. "I've done a bad job of setting the tone for that," Casey told reporters. "I've got to do a better job of setting the tone for our team. You get a technical, we got to find some reason or some consequence for that. We've got to have our composure." Center Andre Drummond already has seven technicals - an automatic one-game suspension kicks in at No. 16 - and Griffin has three.
ABOUT THE ROCKETS (8-7): Star guard James Harden scored 34 points against Sacramento and is averaging 29.6 points over the past five games to help the offense find a higher gear. Center Clint Capela recorded 23 points on 11-of-14 shooting and collected 16 rebounds and four blocked shots against the Kings for his 10th double-double, and his success in the interior is helping open up the perimeter. "We're making shots, playing the right pace, and it's our defensive end though," point guard Chris Paul told reporters after the win over the Kings. "We gave up over 100 but for the most part, the defense was good."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The teams split last season's two meetings.
2. Drummond had 23 points and 16 rebounds against Cleveland for his sixth straight double-double, and he is averaging 21.3 points and 17.3 rebounds during the stretch.
3. Houston backup SG Gerald Green made a season-high five 3-pointers while scoring 17 points against the Kings.