NBA 2018-19: Detroit Pistons vs Golden State Warriors: 3 Talking points

Final Score: Detroit Pistons beat Golden State Warriors, 111-102

Stats:

Pistons- Field Goals 43-98 (43.9%), 60 rebounds, 22 assists, 8 steals.

Warriors- Field Goals 39-85 (45.9%), 51 rebounds, 23 assists, 6 steals.

It was a second consecutive night that Pistons were defending the home court fighting fatigue and soreness backed by the home crowd and a good conference record.

It was the first game for Stephen Curry after recovering from a groin injury three weeks ago. It is rare to see Warriors trailing in three pointers conversion with the excellence of Splash Brothers and Kevin Durant shooting the ball. But in this game Pistons topped Warriors shooting 23.1% (6-26) 3 pointers. Pistons converted 34% (12-35) of their 3 point shots.

Pistons led the game almost for the entire time with Warriors trying to bounce back time and again but were limited to 102 points by an amazing show put by Pistons bench defensively. Stanley Johnson came off the bench with 19 points and 7 rebounds in 22 minutes that he played in a convincing win against the defending champions.

#3 Return of Stephen Curry

Curry was sidelined from action for 3 weeks after suffering a groin injury against Milwaukee Bucks on November 8. On his return, he dropped 27 points, 5 rebounds, 3 dimes and 2 steals in 36 minutes. He looked in his zone while converting 10 of 21 field goal attempts (3-9 3pt, 4-4 ft).

Curry in his post-game interview said:

"It felt good to be back out there. But in the first half I was going 100 mph without my timing being back. In the second half, I played a lot closer to where I want to be. The shots started falling and I was aggressive without making stupid plays."

Apart from the Splash brothers, Curry and Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant was the only Warrior to score in double digits. All members of the Warriors Big 3 scored 20+ points in the loss.