AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) — Dwight Howard vs. Andre Drummond was a mismatch from the start — so it
didn’t really matter how many key players were missing for the Houston Rockets.Howard had 35 points and 19
rebounds, leading the short-handed Rockets to a 114-97 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Saturday night.
Howard dominated Drummond, Detroit’s promising 20-year-old big man, and helpedHouston control the game
despite the absence of star guard James Harden, who was out with a sprained right ankle.“I love Andre — the
way he’s been playing this year,” Howard said. “He’s 20 years old, and he doesn’t back down from any
challenge, and I love that about him. He’s going to continue to get better.”But Drummond looked overmatched
against Howard, who ended up with his highest-scoring game since joining the Rockets in the offseason.
Howard went 13 of 18 from the field, while Drummond managed only nine points at the other end.“At the end I
thanked him for the lesson,” Drummond said. “He said, ‘Any time.”’The Rockets also were without Jeremy Lin,
who has been bothered by back spasms, and they lost guard Patrick Beverley to a fractured right hand.Josh
Smith scored 19 points for the Pistons.Detroit blew a 20-point lead and allowed 72 points in the second half
of Friday’s loss to Charlotte. The Pistons again struggled defensively against Houston, especially against
Howard.“Dwight was unbelievable tonight. He completely dominated the game,” Houston’s Chandler Parsons said.
“I’m a big fan of Andre Drummond. I think he’s got a lot of potential, and he’s a really good player, but I
mean, Dwight just dominated tonight.”Howard scored 23 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in the first half.
Houston led 61-53 at the half and 86-71 after three quarters.Drummond’s tip-in made it 92-82, but Howard
responded by simply backing Drummond down again for two more points. Francisco Garcia’s 3-pointer put the
Rockets up 97-84.The Pistons shot 1 of 12 from 3-point range, and they also missed a number of shots inside
from point-blank range. Houston lost Friday at Indiana in a 114-81 rout, but the Rockets overcame all their
injury problems against Detroit.“We just have to go out there and play,” Rockets coach Kevin McHale said.
“It does not matter how many guys we have. It does not matter who is playing or who is not playing. We just
have to go there and play together and play with some toughness. Toughness and togetherness overcomes a lot
of stuff.”Parsons scored 20 points on 9-of-15 shooting for Houston, and Garcia added 16 points starting in
place of Harden. Omri Casspi and Aaron Brooks had seven assists each off the bench.“I thought Aaron had a
good game tonight,” McHale said. “I thought Patrick really started off well. We are not going to have
Patrick for a while, which means that Jeremy is due to come back.”Brandon Jennings had eight points and 10
assists for Detroit before being ejected with 2:10 to go. After a foul call, a clearly frustrated Jennings
tossed the ball away for one technical foul, then earned another for arguing.“We are still trying to get
better, night in and night out,” Pistons coach Maurice Cheeks said. “As I said to our players, there will be
some nights when we will have good nights, there will be some nights when we have bad nights. Last night and
tonight was not our best for sure.”Rockets 114, Pistons 97HOUSTONParsons 9-15 1-1 20, Jones 3-5 0-0 8,
Howard 13-18 9-14 35, Beverley 3-6 4-4 10, Garcia 6-11 0-1 16, G.Smith 1-3 0-0 2, Brooks 4-10 1-1 10, Casspi
5-9 2-2 13, Brewer 0-2 0-0 0, Motiejunas 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 44-79 17-23 114.DETROITJ.Smith 8-20 3-7 19,
Monroe 5-10 0-0 10, Drummond 4-5 1-2 9, Jennings 2-11 4-5 8, Caldwell-Pope 1-3 0-0 2, Singler 5-9 2-2 12,
Stuckey 4-9 1-2 9, Bynum 5-12 1-1 11, Villanueva 2-5 2-3 6, Harrellson 0-0 0-0 0, Datome 4-5 0-0 9, Mitchell
0-0 2-4 2, Jerebko 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 40-89 16-26 97.Houston 33 28 25 28 — 114Detroit 24 29 18 26 — 973-Point
Goals—Houston 9-23 (Garcia 4-8, Jones 2-2, Casspi 1-2, Brooks 1-4, Parsons 1-4, Beverley 0-1, Brewer 0-2),
Detroit 1-12 (Datome 1-1, Villanueva 0-1, Bynum 0-1, Caldwell-Pope 0-1, J.Smith 0-2, Singler 0-2, Jennings
0-4). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Houston 54 (Howard 19), Detroit 46 (Monroe 11). Assists—Houston 33 (Casspi,
Brooks 7), Detroit 22 (Jennings 10). Total Fouls—Houston 19, Detroit 17. Technicals—Bynum, Jennings 2,
Detroit defensive three second. Ejected— Jennings. A—14,606 (22,076).