Warriors Clamp Down On Pistons In 104-96 Win
By NOAH TRISTER/AP Sports Writer
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) - Stephen Curry had 19 points, nine assists and eight rebounds, and the Golden State Warriors clamped down on the Detroit Pistons in the second half of a 104-96 victory Monday night.
Klay Thompson scored 19 points for Golden State, which has won four in a row. The Pistons have lost five of seven since firing Maurice Cheeks and replacing him with interim coach John Loyer.
The Warriors were still without David Lee, who has been dealing with a stomach flu. Andrew Bogut returned from a left shoulder injury and played 29 minutes before fouling out.
Greg Monroe had 23 points for the Pistons, who scored only 13 points in the fourth quarter. The Pistons were only down 63-62 at halftime but couldn't replicate that offensive success.
The Warriors have won six straight over the Pistons for the first time since a seven-game streak from 1975-76.
Curry went 6 of 15 from the field and was only 3 of 9 from 3-point range, but he repeatedly found teammates for open shots on the perimeter. Detroit trailed 95-94 after Monroe's layup with 4:11 to play, but the Pistons didn't score again until the final minute.
Golden State, which was beginning a six-game road trip, was progressively stingier in each quarter, allowing 37 points in the first before holding Detroit to 25, 21 and 13 in the remaining three.
The Warriors' bench outscored Detroit's 42-15. Golden State (35-22) is a season-high 13 games over .500.
Detroit (23-34) is fading from the playoff race in the Eastern Conference. The Pistons are now four games behind eighth-place Atlanta.
Josh Smith had 18 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists for Detroit but shot 9 of 24 from the field.
The first half was an entertaining one. Curry had a four-point play in the first quarter - just 40 seconds after Jennings had one for Detroit. There was also a dunk by Thompson on Detroit's Kyle Singler that left Singler so off balance he fell into a row of cameramen near the basket.
NOTES: Michigan State coach Tom Izzo was seated courtside. Draymond Green, a former star for the Spartans, had six points and five rebounds for Golden State. ... Detroit's Andre Drummond and Golden State's Jermaine O'Neal were hit with a double technical foul in the first quarter when they both went spilling into the same area for cameramen that Singler fell into. Green and Smith received technical fouls in the third, apparently for jawing at each other.
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