OAKLAND, Calif. — The banged-up Detroit Pistons gave it a valiant effort for 24 minutes, but they lacked the crucial long-ball component.
That impediment led to their demise, equating to a 127-107 blowout victory for the Golden State Warriors on Thursday night at Oracle Arena.
“We always try to focus on the process and keep getting better,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “That’s all it’s about, continuing on with the work in progress and we made a good step tonight.”
Kevin Durant scored a game-high 25 points to go with six rebounds and nine assists. Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson went for 24 and 23 points, respectively.
Before this contest, Kerr said he was looking for defensive tenacity and ball security to gauge if his team was adequately prepared.
The Pistons shot 53 percent from the field before intermission while Kerr’s floor general, Curry, coughed up six of the team’s nine first-half turnovers.
Kerr couldn’t have been happy initially.
Guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Detroit’s best shooter and perimeter defender, left the game early in the opening quarter after big man Zaza Pachulia hit him with a hard screen on his troublesome left shoulder. He would not return and an X-ray came back negative.
Detroit surprisingly found itself down only two points at the half despite making only one 3-pointer. But the lack of outside shooting eventually caught up with the Pistons.
In the third quarter, the Warriors went about disposing of the visiting team by using the outside weapon. They erupted for eight triples on 12 attempts in the period and capitalized on the Pistons’ seven turnovers by producing 14 points.
Detroit tried to shoot out of the hole it built, but could connect on only three of its eight 3-pointers (the Pistons finished 6-for-28 overall from deep) in the frame. Golden State opened things up, outscoring Detroit 41-19 in the third.
“We didn’t play well,” Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy said of his team’s third-quarter performance. “We made too many defensive game-plan mistakes where we weren’t doing what we were supposed to be doing. We didn’t get back in transition, we didn’t match up and we turned the ball over.
“When you don’t do those three things against a team like that, you have no chance.”
The Warriors made 15 3-pointers. The Pistons made six. That’s not going to get it done against the defending Western Conference champs.
“Most importantly, contesting shots,” Draymond Green said of the Warriors’ perimeter defense. “Even if you may think you can’t get there, still go try to contest a shot. You may throw the guy off a little bit or force a miss. And that’s always our attitude.”
Kerr switched up the substitution pattern against the Pistons as Durant, who typically gets his first breather midway into the opening quarter, was left in with Curry for the first 11 minutes of the game.
“I think it’s been good to explore Steph and KD playing together a little bit more in the first and the third,” Kerr said. “They obviously play together quite a bit, but to play them with Draymond on the bench gives the offense a different look.”
Marcus Morris had 21 points and five boards and Tobias Harris added 18 points for the Pistons.
Golden State distributed 39 assists while knocking down 50 field goals. There were a total of 21 lead changes in the first half, the most in an NBA game this season.
The Warriors have won seven of their past eight games, and next up is a Monday visit from the defending-champion Cleveland Cavaliers. The Cavs took the rivals’ first meeting in a Christmas Day thriller.
But with four days leading up to the much-hyped matchup, Durant isn’t looking ahead just yet.
“I’m more excited about having an off day tomorrow.”