Rockets beat the Pistons, 136-113. Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images.
Two nights after their NBA record-tying 28-game losing streak ended, the Detroit Pistons were blown out 136-113 on Monday night by the Houston Rockets, who got 26 points and nine assists from Alperen Sengun and 22 points from Jalen Green.
Detroit (3-30), which beat Toronto 129-127 on Saturday, failed to win consecutive games for the second time this season.
Pistons coach Monty Williams said he had thought about how his team would respond after the win.
“I thought about it the last day,” Williams said. “When you’re fighting for a win like we were for so long and you get one, I’m sure there’s emotional stuff that I can’t explain, but when you’re in our situation, you got to recover quickly.”
Green and Sengun combined to score 37 points in the third quarter as the Rockets outscored the Pistons 47-25 in the period to take a 106-80 lead into the fourth.
“It wasn’t the best feeling going in at halftime up four when we felt like we played well enough to be up double digits,” Houston coach Ime Udoka said. “Gave a few leads up, but came out with the right mindset, focused and had a big quarter. (We) kind of put it away there.”
Sengun shot 9 of 13 from the field and Green made five 3-pointers as the Rockets snapped a three-game skid.
Sengun said he played more aggressively in the third quarter.
“I knew I needed to play better,” Sengun said. “I was mad at myself, and I pushed myself in the second half. I played my game. I wasn’t playing like myself in the first half. I missed a lot of shots. I didn’t play with that energy, but if you want to win everyone has to play good, and I did my job in the third quarter.”
Sengun has scored at least 20 points in six straight games, and Green has scored at least 20 in three straight.
Alec Burks scored 21 points, Jaden Ivey added 19 and Bojan Bogdanovic had 14 for the Pistons. Jalen Duren had 12 points and 13 rebounds for Detroit, which shot 49% and went 13 of 29 on 3-pointers.
“We are one of the youngest teams in the league, so no one should outwork us ever, and that's what happened tonight,” Bogdanovic said. “They kind of outrun us, outworked us, and that's got to stop.”
Tari Eason had 17 points, Jae’Sean Tate scored 16 and Fred VanVleet had 15 points and seven assists for Houston, which shot 56%, including 15 of 35 on 3s. The Rockets turned 18 turnovers into 33 points.
Houston’s Amen Thompson had 12 points in his first game against twin brother Ausar Thompson, who finished with five points for Detroit.
Leading 62-60 early in the third quarter, Houston went on a 19-4 run to open up an 81-64 lead on a 3-pointer by VanVleet with 6:43 remaining in the third. Sengun scored 11 points during the burst.
UP NEXT
Pistons: At Utah on Wednesday.
Rockets: Host Brooklyn on Wednesday as their seven-game homestand continues.
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Oswald Peraza hit a two-run single in the ninth inning to help the Los Angeles Angels snap a three-game losing skid by beating the Houston Astros 4-1 on Saturday night.
Peraza entered the game as a defensive replacement in the seventh inning and hit a bases-loaded fly ball to deep right field that eluded the outstretched glove of Cam Smith. It was the fourth straight hit off Astros closer Bryan Abreu (3-4), who had not allowed a run in his previous 12 appearances.
The Angels third run of the ninth inning scored when Mike Trout walked with the bases loaded.
Kyle Hendricks allowed one run while scattering seven hits over six innings. He held the Astros to 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position, the one hit coming on Jesús Sánchez’s third-inning infield single that scored Jeremy Peña.
Reid Detmers worked around a leadoff walk to keep the Astros scoreless in the seventh, and José Fermin (3-2) retired the side in order in the eighth before Kenley Jansen worked a scoreless ninth to earn his 24th save.
Houston’s Spencer Arrighetti struck out a season-high eight batters over 6 1/3 innings. The only hit he allowed was Zach Neto’s third-inning solo home run.
Yordan Alvarez had two hits for the Astros, who remained three games ahead of Seattle for first place in the AL West.
Key moment
Peraza’s two-run single to deep right field that broke a 1-1 tie in the ninth.
Key Stat
Opponents were 5 for 44 against Abreu in August before he allowed four straight hits in the ninth.
Up next
Astros RHP Hunter Brown (10-6, 2.37 ERA) faces RHP José Soriano (9-9, 3.85) when the series continues Sunday.