James Harden shines in debut for Houston Rockets as they cruise past Detroit Pistons – NBA Recap
Only days after being traded to the Houston Rockets from the Oklahoma City Thunder and hours after signing a five year max contract extension with the Rockets worth a staggering $80 million, James Harden knew he had a lot to prove when he set foot on the basketball floor in his debut for the team, which happened to be their season opener against the Detroit Pistons at the Palace of Auburn Hills. And Harden wasted no time in setting the tone for what is to come in the future as he finished with 37 points, 12 assists, 6 rebounds and 4 steals and guided the Rockets to a comfortable 105-96 victory. Harden was aggressive and unstoppable from the first period, and excelled in just about every aspect of the game as he made sure he had the attention of the Rockets management as well as the NBA.
Harden shared the backcourt with Jeremy Lin, who scored 12 points and 8 assists as he took the back seat and allowed Harden to shine in the moment. The Rockets had valuable contributions from many other players which helped them secure the victory. Brandon Knight led the Pistons in scoring with 15 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists. The Pistons competed against the Rockets more or less for the first three periods, but Houston dominated the final period and outscored the Pistons 33-15 to pick up the victory.
The Pistons took an early 10-7 lead, but Houston scored the next nine straight points to turn the tables around and take a 16-10 lead. A three pointer by Carlos Delfino later in the period put the Rockets up 23-17, and a hook shot by Greg Smith had the Rockets up 27-19. Detroit scored the final three points of the first period to trail 22-27. Harden scored the opening six points for Houston in the second period, but Will Bynum also scored the first seven points for Detroit and had them trailing 29-33. Houston held the lead for much of the quarter but the Pistons stayed close behind and two free throws by Rodney Stuckey had them trailing 44-45. Detroit later took a 56-55 lead through two free throws by Jason Maxiell, and Knight closed the quarter with a layup to give the Pistons a 58-55 lead at the half time break.
Lin and Harden combined to score the first ten points of the third period for the Rockets, and helped them compile a 10-0 run to take back the lead. The Pistons responded with a 13-0 run that enabled them to take a 71-65 lead. Houston missed 6 straight field goal attempts and committed 5 turnovers during the Piston 13-0 run. Back to back three pointers by Kim English later in the period extended the Pistons lead to 77-69, and they finished the third quarter leading 81-72. Houston were restricted to only 17 points in the third quarter where as the Pistons scored 23 themselves.
The Rockets finally woke up in the final period after playing two poor quarters and went on a 13-2 run in the early going to tie the game at 85. Back to back dunks by Smith then gave them a 91-87 lead, and Delfino then scored back to back three pointers to extend their lead to 97-89. Greg Monroe kept the Pistons alive in the game by scoring four straight points and reducing the Pistons deficit to 93-97, but the Rockets went on a 7-1 run after that and sealed the fate of the game. They eventually won 105-96.
Carlos Delfino finished with 15 points and 7 rebounds, Omer Asik had 12 points and 9 rebounds where as Chandler Parsons finished with 11 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists. Monroe finished with 14 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists for the Pistons. Tayshaun Prince added 12 points and Maxiell had 10 points and 8 rebounds.
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