By Dave Hart
LocalSportsJournal.com
Rockets 99, Pistons 96 – James Harden’s 28-point performance led the Houston Rockets over the Pistons on Monday night at the Palace of Auburn Hills.
Harden also had 11 assists and eight rebounds on the night, while Clint Capela added 15 points and Trevor Ariza contributed with 14 points.
Detroit has now dropped its last four games in a row and now has a 6-9 record on the season.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope paced the Pistons with 26 points while Andre Drummond added 13 points and 16 rebounds. Marcus Morris chipped in with 13 points for Detroit and Lon Leuer scored 12 points off the bench.
The Pistons jumped out to a 25-18 lead after the first quarter, trailed 51-46 at halftime and cut their deficit to 79-75 entering the fourth quarter.
Detroit outscored the Rockets 21-20 in the final stanza to fall just short of a comeback win.
The Pistons, who will announce a move to downtown Detroit on Tuesday, will host the Miami Heat on Wednesday night.
Record: 6-9
5th Place in Central Division (5.5 games behind first place Cleveland)
11th Place in Eastern Conference (5.5 games behind first place Cleveland)
1 game behind New York and Indiana for the last two playoff spots
Magic # to clinch a playoff spot: 70
Magic # to clinch a Central Division title: 75
Magic # to clinch a regular season Eastern Conference title: 75
Next Game: 11/23/2016 vs Miami Heat 7:30 p.m. @ Palace of Auburn Hills
Stats: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope 26 points, Andre Drummond 13 points 16 rebounds, Marcus Morris 13 points, Jon Leuer 12 points 8 rebounds, Ish Smith 10 points 8 assists.
