Detroit, MI
Detroit Pistons doomed by poor third quarter in blowout loss in Houston, 136-113
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.
More: A nightmarish 2023 is ending for Detroit Pistons. Here’s what they need in 2024
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.
Check out “The Pistons Pulse”, your go-to weekly Detroit Pistons podcast, co-hosted by Omari available anywhere you listen (Apple, Spotify).
Chickens and geese that went missing from a local nonprofit’s Detroit site were found in the backyard of a nearby home, the director of operations said Wednesday.
The Full Circle Foundation, a Grosse Point Park-based nonprofit, said more than a dozen chickens and geese were believed stolen from a chicken coop on Detroit’s east side that also features the Full Circle Edible Garden.
The nonprofit provides training and job opportunities for young people with special needs.
Neighbors who learned from news reports about the missing flock found the “chickens were being held in the backyard of a vacant home not far from the Full Circle Edible Garden,” said Stephanie DiVirgil, director of operations. She said Ribbon Farm 4-H owns the flock.
“The homeowner was contacted, and she reached out to Full Circle to confirm,” said DiVirgil. “We were able to retrieve all of the chickens and geese that were found on the property, 19 in total.”
The foundation and Ribbon Farms 4-H are working to secure the site, including cameras, fencing and lights.
“We will likely start a fundraising campaign to have these items installed,” DiVirgil said. “We’ve gotten amazing support from the community, including offers to help pay for these additional security measures.”
DETROIT (WXYZ) — Human remains were found in a furnace of an home on Detroit’s west side, the Detroit Police Department tells us.
The remains was found by an individual working on the home in the 5200 block of S Clarendon just after 11 a.m.
Anyone with information can call 313-596-2260 or CrimeStoppers at 1-800-SpeakUp.
Stay with WXYZ.com for updates on this developing story.
The Detroit Police Department is investigating after a 5-year-old child was shot in the arm near a park on Tuesday.
The shooting happened at about 8:50 p.m. near the Fargo-Oaklfield Playground on the city’s west side. Police Chief Todd Bettison says the child was in front of his home riding a bike with his father supervising at the time of the shooting.
Bettison says an individual at the park fired multiple shots, striking the child. He says the boy’s father reported hearing shots and the child falling from his bike.
Bettison says the child is expected to be OK.
Bettison says the person appears to have been firing shots randomly, which he calls “problematic.” He says a person of interest is described as possibly between 15 and 16 years old and wearing a mask. He says the person is known to frequent the area.
“When you fire a weapon, what goes up must go down,” Bettison said. “To parents and everyone, know where your kids are. Juveniles should not have guns, and whether you’re an adult or a child, you should not be firing a weapon inside of the city limits.”
Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield released a statement, saying in part, “By the grace of God, this young boy will recover from his injury and is on his way home from the hospital. With that said, this incident was senseless and could have had a much more tragic ending.
“Every child in Detroit deserves to feel safe riding their bike, playing outside, and simply being a child in their own neighborhood. We cannot accept a reality where our children are placed in harm’s way because someone chose to recklessly fire a gun.”
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 800-Speak Up.
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