Houston Rockets lost to Pistons in high stakes affair

There was no shortage of narrative value in the Rockets' Monday contest with the Pistons.

Let's start with the Thompson twins. Brother versus brother. Each Thompson surely anticipates games against their twin brother, and they each left it all on the floor in this one.

Moreover, Jalen Green and Cade Cunningham have a perpetual score to settle. Cunningham was picked one spot ahead of Green in the 2021 NBA Draft. Each young guard is looking to prove that they're superior to the other.

Cunningham got the upper hand in this one.

The first half was a tale of two quarters. In the first frame, an athletic Pistons team continuously forced the ball out of the Rockets' hand. The Rockets turned the ball over uncharacteristically often. In the second quarter, they looked to be themselves. The Rockets had the game tied up heading into the second half.

Once it got underway, the Pistons got out running - and they didn't look back.

Rockets outclassed by Pistons

This was a tough game for Alperen Sengun. He finished with 11 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists, where the Pistons' Jalen Duren finished with 16 points and 14 rebounds.

The box score doesn't even tell the whole story. Duren used his superior athleticism to control Sengun all night. He was too strong for Sengun to score on in the post, and Duren's verticality gave the Rockets star fits when trying to contain the pick-and-roll.

Otherwise, the Rockets had no answer for Cade Cunningham. He had 32 points on 12/22 shooting in this contest. Even his robust 10 turnovers couldn't cost the Pistons this contest.

What else went wrong for the Rockets?

Rockets missing key piece

Nobody is saying Jabari Smith Jr. would have won the Rockets this game. It is fair to suggest that he would have helped.

When it comes to Duren, Smith Jr.'s length at the 4 could have been used to contain him. Still, it's his weakside rim protection that should have deterred Cunningham. As a plus-sized guard, Cunningham is difficult to contain without size on the interior.

Otherwise? Jalen Green missed the shots he's been hitting lately. He had 19 points on 8/21 shooting from the field. A better performance from him would have been useful.

Lastly, the Rockets simply didn't dominate the possession game as they normally do. The Pistons had 88 field goal attempts to the Rockets' 94. Gaining a larger advantage in that area has been pivotal to the team's success this year.

All told a myriad of explanations tell us why the Rockets lost this winnable game. All they can do now is regroup for Wednesday's contest with the Cavaliers. This is just one loss:

Even if it felt like it meant more.