The Detroit Pistons’ offense was due for a big night. Their best performance of the season led to an upset over the defending NBA champions — and allowed them to survive big nights from two of their best scorers.
The Pistons defeated the Golden State Warriors at home, 128-114, behind a season-best 28 points from Saddiq Bey. All five of Detroit’s starters reached double figures, and the Pistons shot a season-high 48.2% overall and 42.4% from 3. The Pistons’ 128 points were also a season-high. The Warriors were limited to 38.9% shooting overall in the first half, allowing Detroit to take control of the game in the second period.
Steph Curry (32 points) and Jordan Poole (30 points) scored the bulk of Golden State’s points. Andrew Wiggins (10 points, 4-15 overall shooting) was the only other player on their roster to crack double digits.
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Isaiah Stewart scored a career-high 24 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, Cade Cunningham flirted with a triple-double with 23 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists, and Bojan Bogdanovic added 21 points. Jaden Ivey also had a solid night with 15 points and five rebounds.
Pistons take control in second quarter
It appeared the Pistons were on pace for their sixth-straight loss. They turned the ball over seven times and shot just 2-for-10 from 3 in the first quarter, and trailed the Warriors, 37-29, after the opening period. Curry and Poole, who combined for 17 points that period, threatened to put the game away early.
A layup from Wiggins with 11:18 to play before halftime gave the Warriors a 10-point lead. From there, Detroit took over. Bey, Stewart and Cunningham combined for 26 points in the second period to help the Pistons win the quarter by a 34-18 margin. It was the first quarter this season that the Pistons held an opponent below 20 points in a quarter.
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Cunningham tied the game at 41 with consecutive midrange jumpers, and a 3-point play by Stewart on their next possession stretched Detroit’s lead to 15-2 and a permanent lead. A 3-pointer by Stewart at the end of the quarter gave the Pistons an eight-point lead entering halftime.
The Pistons clicked in all areas during the second period, as they shot 11-for-21 overall, held the Warriors to 7-for-23 shooting and turned the ball over just twice. They maintained their momentum into the third quarter, as a corner 3-pointer from Bogdanovic with 8:30 on the clock gave Detroit a 79-60 lead — their biggest of the night.
Stewart leads Pistons with career night
Through two seasons, defense and rebounding have been Stewart’s calling cards. He can score in the paint, but sometimes gets lost amongst the trees. He flirted with an outside shot at times before this season, but it wasn’t a staple of his game. Stewart stuck with his role, and the Pistons didn’t ask him to do much else.
Stewart’s taken on a bigger offensive role this season, with mixed results thus far. The coaching staff has given him the green light to take more 3-pointers, and he had 27 through six games entering Sunday. He made six of them, good for 22.2%. The eye test suggested he was due to hit a few more.
The 3-ball was once again part of his game on Sunday, as he made two of his five attempts. But it was an all-around strong offensive performance for the big man, as he hit four of his five shots inside and 10 of 11 shots from the free-throw line.
Contact Omari Sankofa II at osankofa@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @omarisankofa.