HOUSTON — The Detroit Pistons trailed by four points at halftime.

Twelve minutes later, they somehow were down by 26. 

A disastrous third quarter spelled doom for the Pistons on New Year’s night. They were outscored by 22 in the period, pushing them to a 136-113 loss to the Houston Rockets to start their four-game road trip. 

The Rockets opened the third with a dominant 40-15 run, and shot a blistering 15-for-22 (68.2%) in the quarter as the Pistons went cold, hitting just seven of their 18 attempts (38.9%). Alperen Sengun came alive in the third, scoring 20 of his 26 points in the period while plowing through Jalen Duren and James Wiseman, who finished it with four and five fouls, respectively. Sengun also dished nine assists.

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Detroit was also hurt by an off night for Cade Cunningham, who shot just 3-for-16 for six points. He did finish with 10 assists, though, his second-straight game with a double-digit assist total. But his assists were offset by 17 team turnovers, off of which the Rockets scored a whopping 33 points.

Alec Burks led the Pistons with 21 points, Jaden Ivey added 19 and Duren tallied a 12 point, 13 rebound double-double.

Detroit was unable to build off of Saturday’s win over the Toronto Raptors, which broke their historic 28-game losing streak. 

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Thompson twins face off

The fourth and fifth overall picks of the 2023 draft had Monday’s date circled. It was the first time Amen and Ausar Thompson faced each other as NBA players.

“It’s going to hit me different after the game, but during the game it’ll be like he’s just another player,” Ausar said during Detroit’s shootaround. “But after it’ll be like, we really played each other. It’s crazy.” 

The Thompson twins parents’ weren’t present on Monday, but their big brother — Troy Thompson Jr. — was. He joined Detroit’s Bally Sports broadcast during the first half. Their parents will attend Amen and Ausar’s rematch when the Rockets visit Little Caesars Arena on Jan. 12.

“That shows where their loyalty is at,” Ausar deadpanned. 

Ausar finished with five points, four rebounds and a pair of assists. Amen tallied 12 points, six assists, four rebounds and a pair of steals.

Burks bouncing back after long slump

In the second quarter, Burks carried a bench unit that struggled to hit shots as the Rockets threatened to turn a double-digit lead into a blowout. He scored seven straight, hitting a pair of layups, and then a 3-pointer to cut it to eight after they trailed by 12. 

A pair of free throws, and then a second triple with four minutes until halftime helped Detroit trim the margin to four, 59-55. The veteran sharpshooter hasn’t been his usual self this season, entering the game 33.7% overall — the lowest of his career by a wide margin — and 34.4% from 3. 

His hot stretch showed why Monty Williams stuck with Burks through his struggles. Few players on the roster can do what he can when he’s feeling it. The player who was one of the best scoring backups in the league a year ago is feeling like himself again. 

“We didn’t have much choice,” Williams said. “We’ve been limited with healthy bodies. He’s a guy that has a body of work, and I see the work every day. I see his ability to stay in there and be the same guy every day. I know he’s not going to waver. That, for me, gives me confidence to continue to play a guy. 

“There were times where the minutes came down a little bit, but you’re not going to go away from somebody like Alec Burks just because he has a body of work that says this is who he is. If he has a slump, it’s going to come back because of the work and who he is.”

It was his second straight strong game after scoring 16 points against the Raptors on Saturday.

Contact Omari Sankofa II at osankofa@freepress.com. Follow him @omarisankofa. 

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