Detroit @ Houston preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 6, 2018 ) Houston 101, Detroit 108

The Detroit Pistons finally have some momentum going in a positive direction, but it may be too late to get them back in the playoff race. The Pistons will be hard-pressed to push their winning streak to three in a row when they visit the NBA-best Houston Rockets on Thursday.

Detroit is five games behind the eighth-place Milwaukee Bucks but just blasted a pair of lottery-bound teams while beating Sacramento and Phoenix by a combined 43 points to improve to 2-3 on the six-game road trip. "To put together two road wins back to back, no matter where they are, is huge, especially this time of year," Pistons forward Blake Griffin told reporters." The Rockets are winners of six in a row and 23 of 24 as they move closer to clinching the No. 1 spot in the Western Conference and the top overall seed in the NBA playoffs. Houston sits four games ahead of the Golden State Warriors in the West after knocking off red-hot Portland 115-111 on Tuesday.

TV: 8 p.m. ET, FS Detroit, AT&T SportsNet Southwest (Houston)

ABOUT THE PISTONS (32-39): Detroit got point guard Reggie Jackson back from a 37-game absence on Tuesday and watched him score seven points on 3-of-7 shooting in 15 minutes. Griffin led the way with 26 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds, and the trio of Jackson, Griffin and All-Star center Andre Drummond has coach Stan Van Gundy excited about the future. "Regardless of what happens the last 11 games here, if we can get Reggie healthy and keep him healthy, with those three guys that's going to be a formidable group to play against," Van Gundy told reporters. "This can be a good team. Nothing that happens in the next 11 games would change my mind. They just need time together and they need health."

ABOUT THE ROCKETS (57-14): James Harden is wrapping up his first MVP award and scored 42 points in Tuesday's win. "That's the best offensive player I've ever seen," Rockets coach Mike D'Antoni told reporters of Harden. "They're running guys to him and he just steps a little further back and makes a 3. The way he can pass and see the floor, get layups, floaters, maybe a lob, maybe out to the corner -- he has so many weapons, and now he's shooting those step-back 3s. It's impossible to guard him. It's impossible." Harden is leading the NBA in scoring at 31.2 points and sits third in assists (8.7).

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Pistons SF Stanley Johnson is 1-of-10 from 3-point range over the last three games and is shooting 28.4 percent from beyond the arc on the season.

2. Rockets PF Luc Mbah a Moute scored 13 points on Tuesday -- his highest total in 10 games this month.

3. Tobias Harris, who has since been traded to the Los Angeles Clippers, scored 27 points to lead Detroit to a 108-101 home win over Houston on Jan. 5.

PREDICTION: Rockets 116, Pistons 101