The Detroit Pistons proved that they can play with the best on Monday night, giving the Golden State Warriors, the reigning National Basketball Association champions, a run for their money. However, Golden State prevailed to stay undefeated in the 109-95 win over Detroit.
Leading the way for the Warriors (8-0) was Stephen Curry. The 27-year-old scored 22 points on 7-for-18 shooting from the field. The leading scorer, however, was Klay Thompson, who hit four three-point jumpers en route to a 24 point performance. Thompson added three rebounds and an assist.
Draymond Green flirted with a triple-double, as he scored six points and added nine rebounds and nine assists in the victory over Detroit.
The Pistons (5-2) were down 55-46 at halftime and cut the Warriors lead to four by the end of the third quarter.
Detroit had their opportunities, but were outscored 29-19 in the final quarter to fall, 109-95. The Pistons fell to 5-2, while the Warriors extended their record to 8-0 on the season.
The Motor City was coming off an outstanding come-from-behind victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday night. It was a game in which Reggie Jackson scored a career-high 40 points.
As for Golden State, they snuck out a 103-94 win over the Sacramento Kings on Saturday. Curry scored 24 points to help the Warriors find their offense late in the game.
Andre Drummond recorded his seventh straight double-double with 14 points and 15 rebounds, while chipping in three assists, two seals and two blocks. Drummond now has over 135 points and 135 through seven games. He is the first player to accomplish that feat since Wilt Chamberlain in 1970-71.
The standout star for Detroit was not Drummond, however, it was rookie Stanley Johnson. The small forward dropped 20 points and added seven rebounds over 32 minutes. The other 20-point scorer was Jackson.
Also chipping in for Detroit was Marcus Morris with 15 points, five rebounds and three assists over a team-high 43 minutes on Monday night.
The bench star for the Warriors was Leandro Barbosa. The shooting guard knocked down two big three-pointers and two other field goals to post 10 points. Andre Iguodala, who also started on the bench, scored 13 points.
"Our second unit is, we feel, the best in the NBA," Warriors interim coach Luke Walton said. "We've got veterans on that unit that know how to win. When they give us that type of performance it just makes us that much more dangerous."
"I definitely think we've got the best bench in the league," said Green. "That's a real weapon for us. It was last year and it is again this year."
Detroit will continue their road trip against Sacramento on Wednesday, November 11. The Kings, led by Demarcus Cousins, are off to a rough 1-7 start to the season.
The Warriors, on the other hand, will look to keep their perfect record against the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday. Memphis is 3-4 on the season. The Warriors, at 8-0, are riding their second-best start in franchise history. In the 1960-61 season, the Philadelphia Warriors started 9-0.
The Pistons will get a second chance at the Warriors on January 16, 2016 at the Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, Michigan.
"You can't turn the ball over 20 times and give up 35 fast-break points," Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy said. "That was the difference in the game. We made bad decisions passing the ball and turned it over too much."