Las Vegas — To fully appreciate the point guard matchup between Daniss Jenkins and Reed Sheppard, the highlight occurred at the 6:45 mark of the first quarter. Jenkins tightly guarded Sheppard on an inbound pass, and his aggressive play resulted in a deflection. As the ball flew out of bounds, Jenkins exclaimed, “Give me that s—!” as Sheppard appeared a bit puzzled.

The moment started an intense duel that featured both players going at each other in an NBA Summer League game on Sunday at the Thomas and Mack Center.

Jenkins scored a game-high 23 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field, 3-of-4 from deep, to not only win his one-on-one battle against Sheppard, but also lead the Detroit Pistons to a 98-83 victory over the Houston Rockets. In addition to his scoring, Jenkins had an all-around performance, finishing with six assists, two steals and a block.

“Daniss was outstanding,” Pistons Summer League coach Vitaly Potapenko said. “Everything with him starts on defense, picking up full-court. He has been outstanding with defensive pressure. Offensively, he runs the offense and sets everything up for the guys. When he is open, he can shoot the ball well.”

The Pistons improved to 2-0 at the start of the 2K26 Summer League tournament in Las Vegas. Jenkins was at the helm of leading Detroit to its second win, but the former undrafted prospect from St. John’s wasn’t alone. Tolu Smith recorded his second double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds, to go along with four assists.

The Pistons jumped out to a 16-point lead in the first quarter by maintaining their defensive intensity from the previous game. They held the Rockets to 28.9% shooting in the first quarter, which included just four made field goals as a team.

Detroit’s success largely resulted from its ability to contain Sheppard, limiting the former lottery pick to just 1-of-7 shooting during the quarter. Sheppard scored 11 points in the second quarter and once cut Detroit’s lead down to two (30-28) by the 6:26 mark of the period. However, the Pistons were able to regain their momentum behind Jenkins’ 15 points in the quarter.

Sheppard ended the game with a team-high 18 points but shot 1-of-7 from behind the arc. The Pistons’ defensive intensity forced him into a game-high six turnovers.

“It was a frustrating game,” Sheppard said. “You have to give credit to Detroit. They came out and punched us in the mouth from the beginning. This is just one of those games that you have to learn from. Watch some film and be better next game.”

Observations and notes vs. Rockets

▶ Holland continues to show his improved shooting: Ron Holland did not have the scoring performance that he displayed in Thursday’s win against the New York Knicks, but he did show that it wasn’t a fluke. Against the Rockets, he began the day shooting 2-of-3 from behind the arc. The second-year forward finished with 15 points on 33.3% 3-point shooting, three steals and three assists.

▶ Lanier has a better performance: After a subpar debut, rookie Chaz Lanier had a better outing in his second Summer League game. He scored 14 points on 5-of-14 shooting with four 3-point field goals. He also contributed to the Pistons’ ball movement by adding two assists.

▶ A gem in the making? The Pistons received a considerable boost from Brice Williams — an undrafted prospect from Nebraska — off the bench. He played 13 minutes, finishing with 10 points on 4-of-9 shooting in his Summer League debut.

coty.davis@detroitnews.com

@cotydavis_24

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