One night removed from a rare lopsided defeat, the Detroit Pistons got right back into a tight contest to close out their Western Conference road trip against the Golden State Warriors.
The Pistons got up 20 points in the second half, but had to stave off a late comeback by the Warriors to come up with a 131-124 victory for Detroit’s league-leading 20th single-digit win of the season.
Cade Cunningham led the Pistons’ offense with 29 points and 11 assists for his fourth straight game of 22-plus points and seven-plus assists.
Despite battling foul trouble, Jalen Duren posted 21 points and 13 rebounds, while Duncan Robinson had a bounce-back game on offense with 15 points and Isaiah Stewart contributed 14 points off the bench.
Detroit’s defense was critical to the victory, turning 18 Golden State turnovers into 31 points and outscoring the Warriors 25-10 on fast-break opportunities.
The victory was Detroit’s first against the Warriors since Jan. 4, 2023.
The entire Pistons (35-12) starting five scored in the first four minutes, with Cunningham and Duren each assisting two early baskets and getting their own shots to go down.
Robinson went blow-for-blow early on with Golden State’s Steph Curry, draining four triples by the midway point in the first quarter and forcing the Warriors (27-23) into a timeout as the Pistons went ahead by six.
Robinson went 1-of-14 from deep in the first two games of Detroit’s road trip, but closed out strong — going 5-for-10 — by taking advantage of even the slightest space beyond the arc.
After Robinson left the court, Cunningham continued to push the Pistons ahead as a scorer and provider. He hit a mid-range jumper to finish out an eight-point quarter and provided on a Ron Holland lob to rack up six assists in the first.
A solid shift from the Pistons’ bench saw them take an eight-point lead into the second quarter after posting 45 points.
Stewart took over the opening of the second quarter for Detroit with 10 points — including a rare midrange jump shot — to counteract a pair of threes from Draymond Green.
The Pistons went back to their starters and relied heavily on their defense to maintain their lead. Detroit forced the Warriors into seven turnovers in the quarter and scored 10 points off of them to take a 13-point lead into halftime.
With Duren adding seven points in the quarter, the Pistons finished out their second-highest scoring half of the season (77 points) going 62% from the field.
Detroit kept the pressure up out of the break going on a 7-0 run behind Cunningham and Duren for the team’s first 20-point lead of the night.
In a matter of minutes, the Warriors found a 10-2 run of their own to cut into Detroit’s advantage.
The Pistons would miss nine straight shots, but Robinson finally drained his fifth three-pointer to end the drought and put Detroit back up 12.
After Curry left the game due right knee soreness toward the end of the period, the Pistons took the opportunity to cause more chaos for Golden State’s offense. They turned another six turnovers into 11 points.
The league’s top stealing team got help across the board, but it was Ausar Thompson leading the way with six steals while Daniss Jenkins and Tobias Harris each had a pair.
Golden State cut into Detroit’s 13-point lead midway through the fourth quarter with an 8-0 run spurred on by guard Buddy Hield. A cutting finish by the Warriors’ veteran backup put them within a possession.
The Pistons didn’t lose their composure, getting a pair of trips to the foul line and a big-time drive and finish from Jenkins to beat the shot clock and give them some space.
There was no shortage of pressure coming from the Warriors down the stretch, but the Pistons got clutch makes from Harris and Cunningham, while going 10-of-14 from the foul line in the fourth to keep Golden State from breaking through.
The win sends Detroit back home with a 2-1 record on their road trip and moves the Pistons to 14-6 against teams with a record above .500, still the best mark in the NBA.
BOX SCORE
Up next: The Pistons are back home on Sunday to face the Brooklyn Nets in the first of four home games in six days.