Pistons rediscover shooting touch in win over Rockets

Auburn Hills — The stat sheet told a friendlier story for Pistons guard Reggie Jackson than the game he actually played in. He loved that the Pistons passed for 22 assists, forced 16 turnovers and held their own on the boards during a 116-105 victory over the Houston Rockets Monday night at The Palace.

“I think we played pretty well,” Jackson said.

But there was one statistic that really caught his eye. The Piston (9-9) shot a season-high 52.9 percent from the floor.

“Damn,” he said as his eyes lit up.

However, the stats don’t tell the entire story. The Pistons flirted with blowing a 28-point lead, which was mind-boggling and made Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy feel uncomfortable. The Rockets got as close as four points before the Pistons' defense and rebounding took over.

BOX SCORE: Pistons 116, Rockets 105

A day after Jackson called his team out for offensive timidity, the Pistons' 116 points were the second best offensive production of the season.

Of course it came against the red-clad Rockets (7-11), who did their own impersonation of the parting of the Red Sea.

“I thought we closed it out well, but (we had) a really bad three minutes in the third quarter,” Van Gundy said. “We didn’t come out with much intensity in the second half, but we were still up 20. But then we fell apart very quickly, which gives teams a lot of momentum when that happens.”

Jackson (31 points and eight assists) and Andre Drummond (24 points and 13 rebounds) led the winning drive by attacking the middle down the stretch. Jackson blew by whoever was guarding him and Drummond pounded the boards and made several defensive plays to keep Houston at bay.

Rockets hung in until the final couple minutes, though.

“We got to be better, but we found a way to stay afloat,” Jackson said. “We’ve got to find out ways to take teams out when we have a chance.”

The Rockets got back into the game, in part, because they continually fouled Drummond. The Pistons center responded by making just four of 18 free throws.

It forced Van Gundy to remove Drummond at least twice.

“I don’t like doing that, but I mean it was a big part of them turning the momentum a little bit,” Van Gundy said. “We lose offensive momentum because you never get to play. So, we finally had to make the move.”

It was also a nice coming out game for rookie Stanley Johnson who took advantage of open looks by netting 19 points and 10 rebounds off the bench. However, it was a rough night defensively for him as he got stuck guarding James Harden (29 points, nine rebounds and seven assists), who schooled the rookie with shakes and outside jumpers.

But Harden was just 6-for-15 from the field. The key for him was making 15 of 17 free throws.

It was a nice but scary start to a four-game home stand for the Pistons, who take on the Phoenix Suns Wednesday.

“You get up 20 or 30 points, the other team is NBA,” Johnson said. “They are playing to win and sometimes we are playing to survive. That is what happened during their comeback. That is the NBA. So that is what you expect.”

The Rockets meanwhile lamented another slow start.

“It has been a trend,” the Rockets' Dwight Howard said. “We have to figure out how to start games better. It’s throughout the game. We can’t allow teams to get shots. All of us have to get better.”

The Rockets were the perfect elixir as the Pistons questioned their offensive effort following two brutal road losses. They averaged just 85 points and shot 34 percent from the field in losses to Oklahoma City and Brooklyn.

The Pistons shot better than 50 percent for just the second time this season. It was the sixth time the Pistons broke 100 points scoring. They are 6-0 in those games.  There was more potential for disaster early in the game when Drummond was benched after his second foul 2 minutes, 50 seconds into the game.

Self-belief failing Pistons on shot selection

Aron Baynes came in for the rescue. He played with good energy and got his licks in against Howard (eight points, and 10 rebounds) and the rest of the Rockets front line. Baynes received a nice ovation when he left with 9:36 remaining in the second quarter. He stunned Houston with 11 points, four rebounds and a blocked shot.

“We played a really good first half on both ends,” Van Gundy said. “And we played no defense in the second half but we hung on and got it done.”

tfoster@detroitnews.com

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