HOUSTON — Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 22 points and all five starters reached double figures as the Detroit Pistons beat the Houston Rockets 123-114 on Wednesday night at Toyota Center.
Rockets guard James Harden had a triple-double with 33 points, 17 rebounds and 14 assists, but Houston (22-22) lost for the third time in four games following a season-best five-game winning streak.
Rockets reserve forward Corey Brewer hit a 3-pointer with 11:12 left to play, cutting the deficit to 85-84 before the Pistons (23-19) answered with yet another blitz of points.
Detroit turned four free throws, two transition dunks and two 3-pointers into a 99-86 lead that paved the way for a season sweep of the Rockets. Despite missing 23 free throws, Pistons center Andre Drummond posted a double-double of 17 points and 11 rebounds.
Forwards Ersan Ilyasova and Marcus Morris combined for 40 points and 11 rebounds, and guard Reggie Jackson had 17 points and nine assists for Detroit.
The Rockets lost center Dwight Howard to a sprained ankle 55 seconds into the game and their defense suffered for it. Houston essentially trailed throughout the contest. Detroit shot 47.5 percent from the floor (38 for 80), including 40 percent (12 for 30) from behind the 3-point line.
The Rockets executed an unusual gambit to open the third quarter, inserting reserve forward K.J. McDaniels at the start of the half so that he could foul Drummond intentionally until Drummond was forced to the free-throw line. That strategy took all of nine seconds, and even after McDaniels took his customary seat on the bench, Houston kept fouling.
Drummond missed 11 of 16 free throws before Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy relented and replaced Drummond with Aron Baynes at the 9:22 mark. With a trio of 3-pointers the Rockets pulled even at 60-60 as Drummond misfired, and the Pistons didn’t attempt their first shot of the second half until Caldwell-Pope missed a 20-footer with 9:02 left.
Houston grabbed its first lead at 62-61 on forward Clint Capela’s hook shot but it was short-lived. With Drummond sidelined the Pistons shot their way back into the lead, turning a 9-0 run into a 74-68 lead on a Caldwell-Pope 3-pointer with 3:46 left. The Rockets clawed to within one point on a Harden trey seconds later, but the Pistons kept firing into the fourth.
NOTES: With Rockets G Patrick Beverley sidelined by a left ankle sprain, Ty Lawson made just his 12th start of the season and first since Nov. 16. Until Beverley returns, Lawson will get another shot to play alongside James Harden while logging significant playing time. … With the Pistons opening the second half of the season Wednesday night, Detroit coach Stan Van Gundy noted that consistency was all that stood between his team and continued development. The Pistons defeated the Warriors and Cavaliers plus the Bulls, Heat and Celtics multiple times in the first half while also losing on the road to the Nets and Lakers. … Rockets C Dwight Howard carried a string of 10 consecutive games with a double-double into Wednesday, including a 36-point, 26-rebound performance against the Clippers on Monday. “He’s back to who he is, who he’s always been,” interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. Howard played just one minute on Wednesday before leaving with an injury, and he did not score.