The Detroit Pistons did the unthinkable on Saturday night. They beat the Houston Rockets to close a three-game traveling trip, and did it without Andre Drummond, Reggie Jackson and a hobbled Blake Griffin for 15 minutes.
Sure, the Pistons (11-15) didn’t have to face Russell Westbrook, who rests for one of two games on a back-to-back, but James Harden was coming off back-to-back 50-point games. Houston (17-9) came off a win in Orlando the night before.
Detroit got contributions up and down the lineup to win its fifth game over the last seven tries, including three on the road.