AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Dwight Howard vs. Andre Drummond was a mismatch from the start -- so it didnt 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, Detroits promising 20-year-old big man, and helped Houston control the game despite the absence of star guard James Harden, who was out with a sprained right ankle. "I love Andre -- the way hes been playing this year," Howard said. "Hes 20 years old, and he doesnt back down from any challenge, and I love that about him. Hes 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 off-season. 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 Fridays loss to Charlotte. The Pistons again struggled defensively against Houston, especially against Howard. "Dwight was unbelievable tonight. He completely dominated the game," Houstons Chandler Parsons said. "Im a big fan of Andre Drummond. I think hes got a lot of potential, and hes 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. Drummonds tip-in made it 92-82, but Howard responded by simply backing Drummond down again for two more points. Francisco Garcias 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." NOTES: Detroit was averaging an NBA-best 51.5 points in the paint coming into the game, while Houston was third at 49.2. The teams finished tied at 62 in that department Saturday. ... The Rockets began the fourth quarter by going 8 of 9 from the field. ... Howard scored 33 points in a Nov. 20 loss at Dallas. ... Beverley scored 10 points in the first half but didnt play in the second. Jordan Outlet Store Near Me .C. -- Duke sophomore Rodney Hood is entering the NBA draft. 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In his first game with Boston University, the 17-year-old Eichel picked up five assists as his Boston University Terriers thumped St.(SportsNetwork.com) - The Houston Rockets will try to become the NBAs first 4-0 team Monday night when they visit the Wells Fargo Center to take on the Philadelphia 76ers. The Rockets have enjoyed an easy schedule thus far in the 2014-15 campaign with road wins over the Los Angeles Lakers and Utah Jazz, then a home victory over the Boston Celtics on Saturday. Those three teams own a combined 3-7 record. The Sixers are winless early in the season, and they can become the Eastern Conferences first 0-4 squad. The Lakers own that ugly record out west. Against the Celtics, Houston built a 14-4 cushion in the first quarter and never looked back. They posted a wire-to-wire, 104-90 victory. All three of Houstons wins this season have seen the team go over the 100- point plateau. The Rockets rank seventh in the league in scoring and their plus-43 scoring margin over opponents is the highest through the first three games in franchise history since the 1993-94 team was a plus-45. That squad, led by Hakeem Olajuwon, won the NBA title that season. James Harden filled the stat sheet with 26 points, eight rebounds, six assists and four steals versus the Cs. Terrence Jones posted 25 points and 10 rebounds for the Rockets and Dwight Howard finished with 14. I like the spirit of the team. Theyre willing to work and if youre willing to work, youre going to get better, Rockets head coach Kevin McHale said.dddddddddddd Point guard Patrick Beverley is questionable with a strained left hamstring. He missed the win over the Celtics. The Sixers fell to 0-3 thanks to a 114-96 setback in their home opener Saturday against the Miami Heat. Its the first 0-3 start for the team since 2010-11. Tony Wroten had 21 points and 10 assists for the Sixers to lead the way. Brandon Davies netted a career-high 18 points and Hollis Thompson added 10 in the setback. The Sixers shot an admirable 52.2 percent, but went ice cold in the fourth quarter. Philadelphia was limited to 4-of-15 shooting from the field and 0- for-5 from beyond the arc over the final 12 minutes. That performance came one night after failing to score a single point over the final 8:21 in a loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. We were good for three periods, said Sixers coach Brett Brown. We didnt roll over. Ive seen fantastic signs in our first three games. The NBA, players are so good. Its unforgiving. Mondays game will be the second of a four-game homestand which will see Orlando and Chicago come to the City of Brotherly Love. These two teams split two meetings last season, but Houston has lost three straight in Philadelphia. ' ' '