Christian Wood scored a team-high 21 points and grabbed 8 rebounds in his first return to Detroit as a player since leaving the Pistons to sign with Houston in 2020 free agency. It helped lead a balanced effort by the Rockets in Saturday’s convincing road win, 116-107 (box score).
For Detroit (4-24), it’s a 14th straight loss. For Houston (10-20), it represents the ninth win in 13 games after shrugging off a woeful 1-16 start. The Rockets were +15 in the 30 minutes that Wood played on Saturday, which was easily the best of any player on either team.
Detroit rookie Cade Cunningham, taken at No. 1 overall in the 2021 NBA draft, led the losing side with 21 points, 11 assists, and 7 rebounds. However, tough defense from the likes of Jae’Sean Tate, Eric Gordon, and Josh Christopher helped limit him to just 8-of-19 shooting. The Rockets led by as many as 20 points, but the Pistons cut the final margin to single digits with a late run in what was effectively garbage time.
Though Wood was the headliner given his return to Detroit, as well as the fact that it represented the big man’s successful return to the court after missing two games with left knee tendinitis, he had lots of help.
With Armoni Brooks out with a sore left ankle, rookie guard Josh Christopher made his first NBA start and played well with 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting (2-of-3 on 3-pointers) and a team-high 7 assists. Garrison Mathews also had a big showing in his first game since signing a four-year contract, scoring 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting and 4-of-9 on 3-pointers (44.4%). Mathews recorded 5 rebounds and 3 steals, as well.
In all, each of the nine players in Stephen Silas’ rotation on Saturday scored 8 or more points. Other standouts included:
- Eric Gordon: 18 points (7-of-11 shooting, 3-of-4 on 3-pointers), 5 assists in 28 minutes
- Jae’Sean Tate: 11 points (5-of-10 shooting), 4 assists, 4 assists, 3 steals in 28 minutes
- KJ Martin: 10 points (4-of-7 shooting, 1-of-2 on 3-pointers), 11 rebounds in 28 minutes
- David Nwaba: 13 points (5-of-9 shooting, 1-of-3 on 3-pointers), 7 rebounds in 17 minutes
- Alperen Sengun: 9 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks in 22 minutes
See below for highlights and postgame reaction following Saturday’s big win. The Rockets will continue their season-long road trip on Monday at Chicago (17-10), with tipoff scheduled for 7:00 p.m. CST.
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