Dwight Buycks scored a career-high 16 points as the Pistons (21-17) bounced back from a 36-point loss at Philadelphia on Friday. Ish Smith tossed in 17 points, Reggie Bullock had 14 and Avery Bradley added 12 for the Pistons.

Detroit center Andre Drummond, the league's second-leading rebounder, sat out for the second time in three games due to a rib contusion.

The Rockets (27-11) are 1-2 since star guard James Harden was sidelined by a hamstring strain, and they have lost seven of their past nine.

Chris Paul led Houston with 16 points and 13 assists, and he added seven rebounds. Eric Gordon, Trevor Ariza and Gerald Green contributed 15 points apiece, Clint Capela chipped in 14 points and 11 rebounds, and Tarik Black had 13 points.

Detroit outscored Houston 31-19 during the pivotal third quarter.

The Pistons used a 16-4 run in the third quarter to gain a double-digit advantage, 78-67. Bradley supplied five points and three assists in the span, including an open 3-pointer on the left wing and a dish out to Buycks for another trey to finish the surge.

Boban Marjanovic's short jumper nudged Detroit's lead to 88-74 in the closing seconds of the third, but Gordon answered with a 3-pointer before the quarter ended.

Houston whittled Detroit's advantage to six early in the fourth, but the Pistons came right back with eight unanswered points, capped by a Buycks 3-pointer to make it 96-82. Smith's reverse layup after Eric Moreland's offensive rebound and assist gave Detroit a 100-84 lead with 4:17 remaining.

The Pistons went cold from that point, and when Gordon drilled a 3-pointer in the final minute, Detroit's lead was down to six. Paul made another from long distance with 16.1 seconds left to make it 105-101. Smith then hit two free throws, and Houston missed its last two shots.

Ariza scored 10 first-half points as the Rockets led 58-57 at halftime.

--Field Level Media