After losing to the Detroit Pistons 122-119 on Wednesday, the Golden State Warriors’ five-game winning streak without Steph Curry and Andrew Wiggins ended. It was yet another exhilarating back-and-forth game at the Chase Center, but this time, the Dubs’ position in the standings made up for their missed opportunities.
Before the first quarter was over, the Pistons had jumped out to a 34-26 lead thanks to their explosive offensive start. The Warrior’s offense was constrained because neither Klay Thompson nor Jordan Poole had a productive night offensively. As a result of missed jumpers from Poole and Thompson, Detroit was also consistently able to advance in the second half.
Golden State’s unexpected load-bearers were Warriors two-way players Ty Jerome and Anthony Lamb, who stepped up offensively. Lamb scored 17 points (6-for-9), and Jerome scored 18 points (7-for-11) in the final period of play. The Pistons had a hot shooting streak, and the Dubs were trailing by just 60-56 at the break, thanks to their two-way players.
The Pistons maintained a slight lead for most of the second half, save for a brief period early in the fourth quarter, as the game remained close throughout the remainder of regulation. Thompson had a huge fourth quarter, scoring 17 points and keeping the Dubs in the game. With less than 90 seconds left, the Pistons were up by five. However, Thompson went on a 4-0 run to reduce the Dubs’ deficit to one.
With less than 30 seconds left, Golden State brought the ball up the court and had the chance to take the lead after holding Detroit without a point. Then, in the game’s waning seconds, Poole mishandled the ball for the third time in a row.
Guard Killian Hayes of the Pistons was forced to commit a foul by the Warriors after giving Detroit a three-point lead with 4:02 remaining. Out of a timeout, Thompson was given a play by Dubs head coach Steve Kerr, who hit a leaning three-pointer from the right wing to tie the score at 119. Overtime was about, to begin with, only one-second remaining.
However, a broken Pistons inbound play gave Saddiq Bey possession of the ball, and in the final seconds, the former lottery pick threw up a fadeaway that went through the net as the buzzer sounded.
Thirty points were Thompson’s final tally. Poole received a score of 24. With 15 rebounds, Kevon Looney pulled down 8 points. Draymond Green had four points, eight rebounds, and seven assists but was also dismissed for two technical fouls.
Bojan Bogdanovic led the Pistons with 29 points, four rebounds, five assists, and two steals. Jalen Duran, a rookie center, also recorded a career-high 18 points while adding 11 rebounds.
The Warriors will host the Orlando Magic on Saturday to continue their homestand.