warriors vs pistons recap (Photo: Rick Osentoski, Reuters)
The Golden State Warriors got the road trip off to a great start with a solid win against a struggling Pistons team.
[NOTE: Click here for the Sights & Sounds version of this recap!]The Warriors struggled for most of the night but found their offense and defense in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Pistons 23-13 en route to a 104-96 victory.
Curry was phenomenal with clutch shots in the final frame, but struggled early on. Klay Thompson seemed to find his groove again with 19 points on 12 field goal attempts.
Curry also had a near-triple-double, pulling down 8 rebounds, and dishing out 9 assists.
Bogut, who played 29 minutes in his first game back after missing seven straight, and although he didn’t tally his usual 8 points and 12 rebounds per game, he was still an intimidating factor inside and forced the Pistons to shoot some bad shots throughout the game.
Bogut would eventually foul out after getting three fouls in a very short amount of time.
However, Jermaine O’Neal he had another double-double with an efficient 16 points and 10 rebounds in 27 minutes.
To round out the starters, Andre Iguodala collected just 4 points, 2 assists, and 2 rebounds. Clearly an off night.
The bench was outstanding tonight as they were led by Jordan Crawford‘s 15 points and Harrison Barnes‘s 11.
Steve Blake hit a couple of big threes. Draymond Green added in his usual defense to go with 6 points.
For the Pistons, Greg Monroe led the way in scoring with 23 points, to go along with 8 rebounds. Kyle Singler and Josh Smith chipped in 18 points apiece. Smith had 11 rebounds and 7 assists.
Brandon Jennings and Andre Drummond struggled. Jennings had just 11 points on 13 shots from the field, to follow up his 2-point performance against the Dallas Mavericks.
Drummond scored 11 points to go along with 9 rebounds and was generally quiet until getting entangled with O’Neal in the first half, which resulted in double-technicals.
Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle:
The Warriors were missing starting power forward David Lee, center Andrew Bogut wasn’t himself in returning from a seven-game absence with an injury left shoulder, and starting point guard Stephen Curry couldn’t find his shot.
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Not to worry. Jordan Crawford scored 15 points – his best total since being acquired by the Warriors on Jan. 15, Harrison Barnes added 11 points, and Draymond Green chipped in six points, five rebounds and his usual abundance of energy.
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The Warriors didn’t lead by more than four points until the final 2 1/2 minutes and were up just 95-94 when Greg Monroe scored on a layup with 4:11 remaining. But the league’s third-rated defense held the Pistons scoreless for the next 3:21, and the Warriors stretched their lead to a comfortable eight points.
Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group:
In a display of his overall ability, Curry grabbed an offensive rebound and assisted on a Steve Blake 3-pointer that gave the Warriors a 92-90 lead before later giving the Warriors the lead for good with a jump shot of his own.
Monte Poole of CSN Bay Area:
The game marked the return of center Andrew Bogut, who missed seven games with shoulder inflammation. He had four points and seven rebounds before fouling out.
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The Warriors started slowly, allowing Detroit to score 37 points in the first quarter, before gathering themselves and peaking late. The Pistons shot 50 percent in the first half, but were held to 30 percent (14 of 47) in the second half.
Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News:
Two local products having a homecoming with Golden State, Draymond Green and Jordan Crawford, weren’t shy about getting shots up in reserve roles, particularly Crawford, who took seven in his first seven minutes.
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His long 3-pointer at the end of the third caught everyone in the building off-guard and cut the Pistons’ lead to two.
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With All-star point guard Steph Curry shooting just six for 15, Crawford was more than happy to oblige pick up the offensive slack. Crawford scored 15 in 18 minutes, while Green, who was playing in front of college coach Tom Izzo seated in owner Tom Gores’ courtside spot, had six points with five rebounds.
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