Curry, Warriors top Pistons

Curry, Warriors top Pistons

Published Nov. 12, 2013 11:57 p.m. ET

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- Stephen Curry couldn't remember the last time he sat out an entire fourth quarter for any reason other than an injury.

"Probably since Davidson," the Golden State point guard said, referring to his college days. "Whenever you're playing well and able to get a lead, it's nice to be able to rest."

Curry and rest of the Warriors' starters got a lengthy and welcomed break after nearly running Detroit into the ground through the first three quarters.

Curry finished with 25 points and eight assists, helping Golden State build a 19-point first-quarter lead on the way to a 113-95 victory over the Pistons on Tuesday night.

Andre Iguodala matched his season-high of 11 assists before joining Curry on the bench for the final 12 minutes.

"The way the ball moved tonight, it was one of our better games where everybody was touching it," Curry said. "I think on our first five shots everybody had an assist. We were moving the ball, finding the easy shot and not forcing anything."

David Lee added 17 points and nine rebounds, while Klay Thompson had 14 points for the Warriors, who have won five straight over the Pistons.

This might have been the easiest of the five.

Golden State led by as many as 29 points, shot 60 percent for the game and outrebounded Detroit 43-34. That helped offset 23 turnovers, 22 of them over the final three quarters.

"The thing that was great tonight ... we did an outstanding job of sharing the basketball,"
Warriors coach Mark Jackson said. "We really did a superb job of paying attention to the details, sticking to our game plan, executing it. Our starters really set the tone."

The Warriors had lost the final two games on their recent road trip before opening a three-game homestand by blowing out the Pistons.

They had 28 assists as a team and had their best shooting night since 2011.
The Pistons did a better job protecting the ball than the Warriors, but went just 3 of 18 from beyond the arc and lost their fourth straight and fifth in six games.

"I was a little disappointed in our effort, no question," Detroit coach Maurice Cheeks said. "When you have a team that shoots the three the way they shoot the three, the lead can balloon pretty quickly and it did tonight."

Andre Drummond had 16 points and 14 rebounds for the Pistons, his second straight double-double and fourth in seven games. Four others scored in double figures but Detroit never got closer than 13 points after halftime.

Lee made his first four shots and Thompson and Curry added seven points apiece, while Jermaine O'Neal scored on back-to-back trips down the court to give the Warriors a 35-16 lead to end the first quarter.

"We just made plays," Jackson said. "When we're unselfish and don't try to make home run plays, good things happen."

The Pistons, coming off a loss in Portland on Monday, looked sluggish most of the evening and trailed by double digits the rest of the way.

A driving layup by Andrew Bogut made it 54-35, and Lee took a behind-the-back pass from Iguodala and dunked to push the Warriors lead to 21. Lee also scored on a putback with 5 seconds remaining to make it 62-41 at halftime.

Thompson opened the second half with 3-pointer before the Pistons went on an 11-2 run to cut the gap to 67-52. Curry's jumper from just inside the 3-point line stopped the slide and Thompson followed with a layup.

Curry was just getting started.

He scored 12 points as part of a 19-5 run midway through the third quarter, including a reverse layup after a 360-degree spin around Greg Monroe at the top of the key. Curry later capped the run with an assist to Harrison Barnes, whose dunk increased the Warriors' lead to 86-57.

Detroit pulled within 13 in the fourth quarter against mostly reserves but couldn't get any closer.

Monroe had 15 points for the Pistons and reserve Will Bynum had 14.

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