The Houston Rockets defeated the Detroit Pistons, 103-102, at Little Caesars Arena on Friday evening.

The Pistons (3-12) and the Rockets (5-9) have been two of the worst teams in their respective Conferences, but they delivered an entertaining contest that was literally decided in the final play of the game. The Rockets got off to an impressive start and built a 13-point lead following the first quarter (34-21), but the Pistons responded and won both the second (26-21) and third (34-22) quarters of the game, taking the lead with only 12 minutes left on the clock. The Rockets came through when it mattered the most, however, and a 26-21 fourth-quarter score allowed them to secure the victory. The Pistons could've won the game when Jerami Grant was fouled by P.J. Tucker with no time left on the clock, but the foul happened after the buzzer so Grant didn't have the chance to go to the free-throw line.

The Rockets didn't have John Wall or Christian Wood available, but Eric Gordon stepped it up and led the offense with 20 points and three assists. DeMarcus Cousins struggled badly from the floor and only notched five points while 2-for-16 from the field, but he also grabbed 15 rebounds and dished out seven dimes. P.J. Tucker had 15 points with seven rebounds, while Victor Oladipo, Jae'Sean Tate and David Nwaba all had 13 points.

Jerami Grant led the Pistons with 21 points and eight rebounds, while he also added three assists. Blake Griffin once again had a secondary role and posted seven points while grabbing 10 boards and dishing out three assists. Wayne Ellington and Delon Wright each contributed 18 points, though Wright filled out the stat sheet with six rebounds, two assists and three steals as well. Josh Jackson had 12 points off the bench.