Houston Rockets: The winning streak comes to an end in overtime loss

The Houston Rockets finally took a loss after winning five in a row, this time to the Detroit Pistons in their home.

The Houston Rockets have been incredible in the month of November, winning 8 of their 10 games coming into tonight. That number is now 8 of 11 thanks to a strong effort from the Detroit Pistons.

The game went to overtime after clutch shots in the last minute from both teams. James Harden gave the Rockets the lead, but Blake Griffin responded with a 3 to put the Pistons ahead. In the final seconds, Eric Gordon converted a layup to send the game to free basketball.

In overtime, though, the Rockets stumbled. Reggie Jackson went off and, with some questionable calls and bad fouls from Houston, had the Pistons up by 10 at one point. Some last minute 3s made the score a bit more manageable to read, 115-110.

The stats

James Harden led the way in points with 33 but was a bit inefficient at 9/27 overall. He also chipped in 8 assists and a block.

Clint Capela had arguably the best game of his career. It’s unfortunate that it was in a losing effort. He dropped a career-high 29 points and brought down 21 rebounds. He also was active defensively, picking up 3 blocks and 2 steals.

Chris Paul had a nice second half to bring him to 20 points and 9 assists.

Why the Rockets lost

The bench play, once again, was very underwhelming. Eric Gordon led the way there with 11 points on 4/14 shooting. His clutch shot was nice, but overall he was not very efficient once again. Isaiah Hartenstein was the only other bench player to score with one dunk. 13 points off the bench are unacceptable.

It’s hard to blame the officials on a loss, but they certainly didn’t help. They missed a blatant goaltend in regulation that ended up impacting the final result of the game. The Rockets should’ve held onto the lead better, but that certainly didn’t help.

Andre Drummond and Clint Capela battled all night. In the end, both players ended up with 20-20 games, which was pretty incredible. Unfortunately, Drummond’s team ended up victorious.

Once again, Blake Griffin went off against the Rockets. He dropped 28 points and 9 rebounds, knocking down 9 of his 18 shots. He also drilled two 3s, including one that almost was the game-winner in regulation.

The Rockets will be back at it tomorrow night against the 3-14 Cleveland Cavaliers, who are coming off a win against the 76ers. Let’s hope the Rockets don’t take them too lightly, but they should still pick up the win.