Missed chance has losing streak at 19
This time, the Rockets really thought they had a chance. They might have, too.
They had starters back. They had help come in from a trade. They kept a game tight, preventing the customary clearing of the benches until the final minutes.
In the end, they collapsed in most of the familiar ways, as the Pistons blew them out of the fourth quarter, leading by as much as 17 on the way to a 113-100 loss, sending the Rockets to their franchise record 19th straight loss.
Christian Wood, in his second game back from his
ankle injury, had 18 points and 11 rebounds, but just five points after the first nine minutes. John Wall played for the first time since before the All-Star break and had 21 points with seven assists, but also five turnovers.
The Rockets 3-point shooting remained as dreadful as it had been through the losing streak, making just 9 of 32 3s even with the three that went in late after the lead reached insurmountable.
The Rockets, however, had their chance to chase that long sought win. After a pair of Victor Oladipo drives, they were within five with 6 ½ minutes remaining.
It took them 4 ½ minutes to score again.
The Rockets missed their next four shots and mixed in four turnovers. And if they were not beating themselves badly enough on one end, they entirely sabotaged any chance to end the losing streak on the other, repeatedly surrendering second shots until the Pistons scored 12 of their 18 second-chance points in the fourth quarter to easily pull away.
Whatever hope that came from not having to replace their most irreplaceable players (and many of their backups) quickly turned to too many reminders of the issues that had sent the Rockets to six weeks of uninterrupted losing.
They could not make 3-pointers often enough to sustain an offense. And they added another injury on a night they were getting so many players back along
with reinforcements in from Milwaukee.
Kevin Porter Jr., a rare bright spot in the losing streak, did not return for the second half because of a sore right quad muscle.
After a half in which the teams traded baskets and the lead, the Rockets offense
slowed just enough for the Pistons to take their lead to as much as 11 in the third quarter and to 12 early in the fourth when a threeshot possession ended with a three-point play.
The Rockets had most of the fourth quarter to search for a run of their own, but
had lost 27 of the 29 previous games they trailed by 10 points or more with their past 11 losses all by double digits.
The Rockets, with starters starting and players they want to play coming off the bench, looked different from the start. There were moments that offered a reminder of how much they were missing in the losing streak marked by how shorthanded they were and at last are not.
Still, too much had not changed through the first half. Mostly, the Rockets could not make 3-pointers any better in the first half than they had through the 18 games since Wood was hurt.
They made just 4 of 16 in the first half while the Pistons hit 6 of 12, leading 55-51 at halftime in what was the largest lead of a half that had 30 ties or lead changes.
Wood had gotten off to a sensational start, making 6 of 8 shots to score 13 first quarter points with four rebounds, a steal, assist and a blocked shot in nine minutes. But in his second stint on the floor, he rarely touched the ball, missing his two shots, the later a heave to beat the buzzer.
By then, the Rockets’ offense was bogging down, often having to race to get shots up before the shot clock expired.
The rust on those that had been out and the lack of familiarity of lineups that had rarely or never played together had been evident. The usual shooting issues were as clear and damaging as ever. Playing time for D.J. Augustin and D.J. Wilson could not keep the Pistons bench from dominating.
But with a losing streak six weeks old, and a win within reach, the Rockets had a half to move past those issues and finally find a way to put the streak behind them. They never could.