Golden State Warriors Bounce Back With Clutch Road Victory Over Detroit Pistons
The Golden State Warriors got back on track last night beating the Detroit Pistons 120-109. The Pistons came into the game just 2-5, and breakout big man Jalen Duren was a late game scratch so the Warriors had no excuses to lose this one. They seemed to control the game for the most part, things got testy in the fourth but thanks to a big game from Steph Curry, the Dubs held on and moved to 6-2 on the year.
Steph Curry and Klay Thompson started the game in vintage Splash Brothers fashion combining to score the team’s first 22 points. Steph accounted for 16 of these including four treys. Despite the hot start by them, the Warriors only led by three as the Pistons were playing solid themselves. A few minutes later with under 60 seconds to play the Dubs were up by a deuce. Chris Paul got a mid range jumper to fall before drilling a three and the Warriors posted a 31-26 lead. There was a little more defense played by both teams and the game remained tight in the second. Rookie guard from Houston, Marcus Sasser, came off the bench and hit some big shots. Additionally, big man Isaiah Stewart was feeling his jumper as he surprisingly knocked down some shots from outside the paint. Kevon Looney left his mark on the game with several offensive boards and tip shots, but most notably he hit a pull up jumper from the elbow. If he can continue to be a threat from there, it would make the Warriors even more dangerous on offense. With just over two minutes left in the half, the Dubs held a comfortable 54-41 lead, but Cade Cunningham got to the lane for two and rookie Ausar Thompson drilled a three as well as knocking down a pair of free throws and at the break they trailed 56-48.
Detroit came out to start the third with an extra pep in their step, going on a 14-6 run to tie things up at 62. Everyone got involved during this burst, Cunningham drilled a three, Thompson jumped out of the gym on an emphatic put back dunk, and Marvin Bagley hit two from the line. But the Warriors responded with a jab of their own, as Curry sprayed a three and a step back jumper, while Dray and Looney got easy buckets at the rim to give the Dubs a seven point lead. Though the back and forth game continued with the Pistons storming back and ending the quarter hot and cutting the lead to just one led by Stanley Umude’s two shots from downtown. Umude hit another trey to start the fourth and give Detroit a three point lead, but CP3 came back on the next possession and drilled his second three of the game to even the score. Umude drove to the rack and got an and-1 before Bagley hit a short jumper from the post and just like that, the Pistons led 95-90. With just under nine minutes to play, Curry checked back into the game and momentum completely switched. Klay splashed a three from way downtown sandwiched by two smooth Kuminga buckets and Steph nailed a three from the corner before turning around and yelling at the Detroit fans. This put the Dubs up six and while the Pistons made a valiant comeback attempt after a timeout, they only got the lead down to two and the Warriors were able to hit several clutch free throws to keep the game out of reach. CP3 hit a jumper and a pair of free throws to ice the game and Golden State secured the win, winning the fourth quarter 37-27.
Curry recorded his second straight game with seven threes, putting up 34 points on 12-26 shooting. As expected he led the Warriors in plus/minus with +17. Draymond was active everywhere as per usual with six points, nine boards and eight assists. Klay shot well from the field going 8-16 with 17 points but it was another tough night for Wiggins as he had just four points on 2-9 shooting. The Dubs bench played great, with three people in double figures. CP3 had 17 on an efficient 6-9 clip. Kuminga and Saric went for 10 and 12 with Saric grabbing 6 boards to help out on the glass. For Detroit, nobody had an outstanding day but everyone played well. Killian Hayes and Cunningham led the way with 21 points apiece. Stewart had a double-double with 17 points and 11 boards including three threes. Rookie Ausar Thompson had a solid 16 points but continued his struggle from deep going 1-4. Umude was the spark off the bench as he finished with 15 points going 5-8 from the field with four threes.
The biggest bright spot was that the Warriors had one of their lowest turnover totals of the season, only coughing the ball up 11 times. In addition, they slightly edged out the Pistons on the glass, winning the rebound battle 44-39. One other positive takeaway was the points in the paint on the Warriors end. They attacked relentlessly and racked up 52 points down low. This was a massive improvement from last game against the Cavs. Now it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows as the Warriors had a rough night from beyond the arc going 12-41. They also shot a less-than-ideal 76% from the charity strip while the Pistons capitalized on their trips to the line going 20-21. Perhaps the biggest reason the Dubs were able to come away with the win was the fact that they took 17 more shots than Detroit. More shots equals more opportunities.
The Warriors move to 6-2 ahead of a primetime matchup against the reigning champs on Wednesday in Denver. Star guard Jamal Murray will be out but the Nuggets still pose one of, if not the best starting lineup in the league led by Nikola Jokic. It will be another game where the Warriors will be outsized and will need to scrape and claw their way to a victory. Everyone will have to get involved on the boards and when it comes to defense, a double team on Jokic might be necessary forcing a lot of rotations. As much as I love the Warriors, I am regrettably going to go with the Nuggets in this one, 127-120. I just don’t think the Warriors have the firepower right now to hang with the Nuggets. Klay Thompson has yet to hit his groove and Wiggins is playing the worst basketball he’s played in years.