Golden State saw its five-game winning streak snapped by Cleveland on Sunday. The Warriors won’t have to wait long to try to start a new one.
They’ll finish a back-to-back set in Detroit on Monday.
Golden State had all of its stars available against the Cavaliers but endured a poor shooting performance in the 115-104 defeat. The Warriors shot 36.2 percent from the field and 66.7 percent from the free-throw line.
Stephen Curry led them in scoring with 28 points but he also committed six turnovers. Chris Paul had a rough game off the bench, contributing just five points on 2-for-10 shooting and two assists.
“It was a weird game,” coach Steve Kerr said. “We just never got it connected. We never felt like our offense helped our defense, or vice versa. We weren’t getting stops, we were taking quick shots, a lot of bad possessions. We didn’t turn it over much but we didn’t have a good flow to our offense. We played a lot of people, just trying to find some energy.”
Starting forward Andrew Wiggins was held to a season-low eight points. He hasn’t scored more than 17 in any game this season.
“It’s been a little bit of a slow start,” Kerr said of Wiggins. “The defense is the key. His defense is always so important for us. The better he is defensively, the more his offense will come.”
Detroit won just 17 games last season but two of them came at the expense of the Warriors.
The Pistons, who have lost four in a row, are also playing the second game of a back-to-back set. They were defeated at home by Phoenix on Sunday 120-106.
Kevin Durant scored a season-high 41 points as the Suns shot 50 percent from the field.
“They were tougher than us, they played harder than us pretty much most of the game,” said Pistons coach Monty Williams, who signed a six-year contract with Detroit after getting fired by Phoenix after last season. “We had too many situations where we missed assignments to start games. When you don’t know the assignment against Kevin Durant, that’s a problem.”
Detroit nearly matched Phoenix in shooting percentage (49.4 percent) but couldn’t overcome its defensive mistakes and fouls. Phoenix made 26 of 29 free throws, while the Pistons shot just 14 free throws and made 12.
“We’ve got to stop fouling. How many times did we go for a pump fake tonight?” Williams said. “How many times did we foul a 3-point shooter? I’m more concerned with that. The foul disparity, you’re going to have that. We’re not going to win games because the officials bailed us out.”
Cade Cunningham once again led the Pistons in scoring with 26 points but had just as many turnovers (six) as assists.
The team’s first-round picks were a bright spot. Ausar Thompson had 14 points, nine rebounds, four assists, four steals and four blocks. Marcus Sasser scored a season-high 22 points off the bench and added four assists.
“It just shows that he’s ready. He’s consistent and you know what you’re going to get with Sass,” forward Isaiah Stewart said.
Sixth man Jaden Ivey was a late scratch due to an illness. Alec Burks missed his third consecutive game because of a forearm injury.
–Field Level Media