Golden State Warriors' Chris Paul (3) chats with Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry (30) during a timeout in the first quarter of their NBA game at Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Friday, Jan. 5, 2024. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
SAN FRANCISCO — Steph Curry’s trio of 3-pointers and a pair of Klay Thompson stops on defense preserved the Warriors’ 113-102 win over the lowly Detroit Pistons on Friday night. Golden State played sluggish 24 hours after a devastating loss to the Denver Nuggets on the end of a back-to-back.
The Pistons came to Chase Center with three wins and kept the Warriors close throughout. Curry finished with a game-high 26 points and finally created the separation needed late in the fourth with three 3s. Thompson had 19 points and a key deflection and block on Bojan Bogdanovic’s in successive Pistons possessions to help turn a Warriors’ one-point lead into a seven-point lead.
Dario Saric had 17 points going 6-for-10 from the field and 3-for-5 from 3. Jonathan Kuminga was a team-best plus-16 with 11 points and six rebounds, though he committed four turnovers.
Chris Paul appeared to injure his hand going for a loose ball and exited the game late in the third quarter and was ruled out. Cory Joseph came off the bench in his place. Around that time, the crowd at Chase Center broke into an audible “Moody” chant, calling for Moses Moody to come into the game after sitting out three straight.
Game void of energy with a tight score mid-way through the fourth quarter, coach Steve Kerr granted the crowd’s wish and Moody checked in.
The Warriors finish off this homestand with a pair of games against the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday — a game moved from 7 p.m. PT to 5:30 p.m. start time — and New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday.
Originally published at Shayna Rubin