How the Detroit Pistons Fell to the Houston Rockets on Friday

The Detroit Pistons fell in a frustrating 111-104 loss during a Friday-night battle with the Houston Rockets. Ausar Thompson finished the night with 12 points and eight rebounds as he dueled with his brother's squad for the second time this season.

Despite getting into foul trouble early with two fouls in his first four minutes of play, Kevin Durant still ended the night with 32 points and seven rebounds.

Detroit Pistons guard Ausar Thompson and Houston Rockets guard Amen Thompson — Jan 23, 2026; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Detroit Pistons guard Ausar Thompson (9) defends against his twin brother, Houston Rockets guard Amen Thompson (1) during the first half at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Reginek-Imagn Images | David Reginek-Imagn Images

The Pistons managed to stay on pace with the Rockets even as Houston started to sneak ahead behind an even effort from its starting five. Houston's frontcourt started to show out early with buckets and boards, which would continue to give it a leg up and lead to an eight point lead by the end of the first quarter.

Rockets center Clint Capela, who filled in some rebounding gaps for the squad against the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday, would only add on to a Houston squad that outrebounded Detroit by a 10-board margin. The Pistons ended the quarter with four turnovers and a clip of just over 16% from the 3-point line as they took some time to find an early spark, but still hit nine of their 20 tries from the floor.

Daniss Jenkins kept the dam from breaking for the Pistons as he took a picked off pass to the house and kept the offense flowing with tough scores and assists.

The reliable young guard and Ron Holland served as captains for a strong bench squad that helped the Pistons claw back into contention with a number of much-needed buckets, including a close-range jab from Holland that would give Detroit its first lead of the night. The Pistons would end the night with 49 bench points, which surpassed the average that placed them in a top-10 spot in the NBA heading into the night.

Detroit's defense, a notable strength during its recent run, held Houston to about 38% from the floor and 25% from the 3-point line by the half.

Durant all but ignored the Pistons' strong defense with two-straight 3-point makes as he single-handedly tried to spark a run in the third quarter, but a two-way cold spell kept things frozen until a Reed Sheppard shot finally broke the ice. Despite their best efforts, Detroit's bench couldn't keep Houston's offense back forever as the Rockets snatched the lead and never looked back by outscoring the Pistons by a 14-point margin in the third quarter.

Detroit will move on to the Sacramento Kings, who are just ahead of the New Orleans Pelicans for 14th place in the Western Conference, before hitting the road for a three-game road trip. It last battled the Kings in late December, when three Pistons ended the night with 20 points or more as Detroit walked away with a 9-point victory. Detroit will cap off the month with matchups against the Denver Nuggets, Phoenix Suns and Golden State Warriors.

The Pistons will face the Kings at 3 p.m. EST on Sunday in Little Caesars Arena. The game will be broadcast on FanDuel Sports Network - Detroit.