OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) - Klay Thompson didn’t much care for sitting out a game even if he knows it will probably help him in the long run.
He hung out in the locker room area Tuesday night watching with the video interns and drinking water and sports drinks to stay hydrated after dealing with an illness.
“It was a good time,” he said sarcastically.
Thompson certainly looked refreshed a couple of nights later.
He returned from that one-game absence for rest and scored 23 points with four 3-pointers in another balanced Golden State performance as the Warriors beat the Detroit Pistons 127-107 on Thursday.
“It felt great to be out there. It was an unfamiliar feeling a couple nights ago,” Thompson said.
Stephen Curry scored 24 points, Kevin Durant had 25 points, nine assists and six rebounds, and Draymond Green dished out 13 assists for his fifth game in the last eight in double digits.
Marcus Morris scored 21 points and Tobias Harris had 18 to lead the Pistons, who lost their second straight game.
Curry, Durant and Thompson scored at least 20 points in the same game for the 13th time this season. The Warriors had 39 assists for their NBA-leading 27th game with 30 or more.
Thompson shot 9 for 15 after sitting out Tuesday night against Miami because he was worn down after playing two games despite not feeling well.
“He’s been playing a lot of basketball the last three years,” Curry said. “He definitely had a nice little spring in his step.”
Ian Clark hit 3-pointers 7.9 seconds apart in the final minute of the opening period and finished with 14 points for his second consecutive game in double figures and ninth in all.
The Warriors won their seventh straight at home against the Pistons dating to Feb. 27, 2010. It is Golden State’s longest home winning streak against Detroit, topping a six-game run from 1974-76.
The 21 lead changes in the first half were the most in any half this season, the Warriors said, citing research by the Elias Sports Bureau.
“There’s going to be a stretch where they lock in,” Detroit guard Reggie Jackson said. “For some reason they have a four-to-eight-minute window where they really lock in defensively and as they continue to score, they find a way to get stops.”
BAY AREA FIRE RELIEF
The Warriors, Oakland Athletics and Oakland Raiders presented a $750,000 check to aid victims from last month’s deadly warehouse fire in an on-court moment after the first quarter.
On Dec. 2, 36 people died in the “Ghost Ship” warehouse fire. Warriors players and coaches pledged $75,000, while the three pro teams in the East Bay said they would match donations up to $50,000 - and more than 3,600 individuals had contributed to the fund as of Thursday, according to the Warriors.
The funds are being collected by the City of Oakland and the Red Cross.
DAVIDSON COLLEGE REPRESENTS
The Davidson College Chorale, a group of singers from Curry’s college, sang the national anthem during its West Coast swing - and the two-time reigning NBA MVP gave the men and women a wave and nod as they cheered when he took the court for pregame warmups.
TIP-INS
Pistons: Were outscored 41-19 in the third, the Warriors’ ninth 40-point quarter. … Detroit was outscored 29-2 on fast-break points and shot 6 for 28 from 3-point range.
Warriors: On Friday night in Southern California, Thompson will have his jersey retired at Santa Margarita Catholic High - the school’s first jersey retirement for basketball. “It’s a huge honor for me,” he said. … Golden State is 12-1 vs. the Eastern Conference this season and also won at Detroit on Dec. 23. … Andre Iguodala has gone a career-best five games without a turnover - topping his previous best from Dec. 30, 2014, to Jan. 7, 2015. He leads the league in assist-to-turnover ratio. … The Warriors announced they had parted ways with former San Francisco Police Chief Greg Suhr after just having hired him as a consultant “to advise the organization regarding certain security matters related to the team’s ground breaking ceremony occurring in San Francisco next Tuesday.”
UP NEXT
Pistons: At Utah on Friday night in the fourth game of a five-game West Coast trip.
Warriors: Host Cleveland on Monday in a rematch of the Christmas Day game won 109-108 by the Cavaliers, who visit Oracle Arena for the first time since winning Game 7 of the NBA Finals last June.
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