Kevin Durant poured in 32 points and the visiting Houston Rockets cooled off the Detroit Pistons, 111-104, on Friday night.
Alperen Sengun had 19 points and five assists, while Reed Sheppard supplied 18 points off the bench. Amen Thompson had 15 points, nine rebounds and seven assists while Jabari Smith Jr. added 11 points with 10 rebounds.
The Rockets took control by outscoring the Pistons 34-20 in the third quarter. They bounced back from an overtime loss to Philadelphia on Thursday.
Jalen Duren had 18 points and seven rebounds, while Isaiah Stewart scored 16 points but Detroit’s four-game winning streak was snapped. Ron Holland had 13 points and Ausar Thompson, Amen’s brother, chipped in 12 with eight rebounds.
All-Star starter Cade Cunningham, who sat out against New Orleans on Wednesday due to an illness and a left hip contusion, was held to 12 points with six turnovers.
The teams were tied 52-all at the halftime break. Durant led the Rockets, who shot 38.6% from the field in the first half, with 18 points. Duren topped the Pistons with 10 points. Detroit shot 54.8% overall but just 2 of 15 beyond the arc.
Neither side had more than a three-point lead in the third quarter until Durant knocked down consecutive 3-pointers to give Houston a 65-60 advantage. He fired in a shot from the elbow to make it 70-62. Sheppard followed with a three-point play to stretch the lead to double digits.
Capela scored the last points of the quarter on a layup off an Amen Thompson feed as Houston carried an 86-72 lead into the fourth.
Detroit went on an 11-1 run in the first two minutes of the quarter to pull within four points.
Stewart’s putback with 8:12 remaining cut the Rockets’ lead to 94-91. Amen Thompson answered with a shot in the lane.
Durant’s pullup jumper and Sheppard’s layup after a Thompson block made it 107-97 with two minutes left.
