There was about as much buzz as one could expect for a matchup between two teams with two wins combined heading into Wednesday night's game between the Rockets and Pistons. It was the 1-8 Pistons with No. 1 overall pick Cade Cunningham against the 1-9 Rockets with second-pick Jalen Green in the first regular season meeting of their careers.
Both players had their moments, but Cunningham ultimately had the last laugh, leading the Pistons to the 112-104 win. Cunningham finished with 20 points, four rebounds and three assists, on 8-for-18 shooting, including 4-for-8 on 3s. Green scored 23 points on 8-for-20 shooting and 3-for-11 on 3s, adding five rebounds and two assists.
The contrast in each player's style was evident with Cunningham, the point guard, patient and methodical, while Green, the athletic dynamo, getting his points through sudden bursts to the hoop or visually pleasing step-back jumpers. But, ultimately, two points is two points.
Although the two weren't matched up defensively, there was some back-and-forth. The real action came in the third quarter as, at one point, the two stars traded 3s, with Green hitting his from straight-away with Cunningham closing out late. At the four-minute mark, Cunningham drove and made a reverse layup, and Green immediately, after receiving the inbounds pass, took the ball the length of the floor and got fouled on a layup attempt.
Then, the highlight of the game came with just more than three minutes remaining in the third when Green exploded baseline on a late closeout from Cunningham, propelling to the rim for the dunk, and then yelled in Cunningham's face, incurring a technical foul.
Green said of his verbal outburst: "It's just basketball. Trying to get fired up." Cunningham, alluding to the third quarter exchange, said, "Nothing I heard tonight held any real weight. It was all for the cameras, I thought."
In the fourth, after the Rockets had trimmed the lead to two with a 10-0 run, Cunningham drove the lane, hitting a spinning layup to put the Pistons up by four. Green then missed a three on the next trip down and the Pistons pulled away.
An embarrassing loss
After an encouraging road trip - or as encouraging as a winless trip can be - which saw the Rockets hang tough against the likes of the Lakers, Suns, Nuggets and Warriors, I thought the team would be ready to feast on a cellar-dweller like the Pistons. Instead, the Rockets got pushed around and outclassed. Aside from the 10-0 run in the fourth by the Rockets, the Pistons had a firm grasp on this one throughout the second half.
Jerami Grant - the man the Pistons chose in lieu of retaining Christian Wood - was the star of the show, scoring 35 points on 12-for-23 shooting from the floor, including 4-for-9 on 3s. Grant scored 21 points in the third quarter, helping Detroit take a stranglehold on the game. The Rockets, playing without Alperen Sengun due to injury, were led by Green and Wood, the latter of whom scored 20 to go with nine rebounds.
After the encouraging signs from last week, this loss feels like a step backwards. Against a bad Detroit team, the Rockets could have used a victory, if for nothing more than a boost of morale. Still, I don't feel too badly about this one: Sengun is a big part of what the team does on both ends of the floor.
Now, the Rockets lick their wounds before welcoming Portland at Toyota Center on Friday.
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November 11, 2021 at 09:21PM
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Jalen Green shows flashes; Rockets still lose to lowly Pistons - Chron
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