DETROIT (AP) - Golden State got Stephen Curry back on Saturday night.
Even that wasn’t enough for the Warriors against Detroit’s Blake Griffin and Andre Drummond.
Griffin scored 26 points and Drummond added 16 points and 19 rebounds as the Pistons extended their winning streak to five games with a 111-102 victory over the Warriors.
“That’s obviously a great win,” Griffin said. “You could tell by the crowd and the atmosphere tonight that we were facing a big team, and we protected our home floor.”
Drummond finished with eight offensive boards.
“It is so tough to play Andre, because when they get some penetration, the bigs normally try to help, but if you take your body off him for a second, he’s going to get the rebound,” Kevin Durant said.
Detroit had six players score in double figures, including reserves Stanley Johnson and Ish Smith.
“Our guys understand their roles and they are accepting the role and being the most valuable player they can in that role,” Pistons coach Dwane Casey said. “We’re playing with energy and we were able to beat the champs on a night when we only shot 44 percent and 34 percent from the line.
“We know we can play better than this.”
Curry returned after missing 11 games with a groin strain and scored 27 points on 10-of-21 shooting, including 20 in the second half. Curry went 3 of 9 from 3-point range.
“It felt good to be back out there, but in the first half, I was going 100 miles an hour without my timing being back,” he said. “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.”
Golden State coach Steve Kerr blamed himself for the defeat, which saw the Pistons finish with 12 3-pointers and 14 offensive rebounds to Golden State’s six and eight, respectively.
“This has to go down as one of the worst games I’ve ever coached,” he said. “We got into some foul trouble early, and I was searching for a lineup that could match up with Blake and Andre, and I never gave us an effective group. We weren’t shooting 3s or getting to the glass.”
Durant scored 28 points for Golden State, and Klay Thompson added 21.
“I think our spacing is screwed up, and we aren’t playing with enough urgency,” Durant said. “None of that is on coach. That’s our fault.”
Curry missed his first three shots, all 3-pointers, but drove to the basket for a three-point play on the first possession of the second quarter.
Detroit led by as many as 11 points in the second and led 54-46 at halftime. Stanley Johnson had 13 points off the bench for the Pistons, while Thompson and Durant combined for 25 for Golden State. Curry had seven on 2-of-9 shooting, missing all five 3-pointers.
“We played a terrible first half, and that pretty much summed up the night,” Curry said. “They are playing really well and we didn’t do anything to take them out of their comfort zone.”
The Pistons moved the margin to 14 points, 69-55, on Reggie Jackson’s three-point play midway through the third, but Curry answered with his first 3-pointer of the game.
The Warriors were as close as two late in the quarter, but Johnson’s 3-pointer at the buzzer gave the Pistons an 85-78 lead going into the fourth.
“We’ve usually got Blake out there with the second unit, but today we were playing without him and were able to stretch the lead,” Johnson said. “We were getting the ball to Ish on the break and letting him make plays, but we were mostly just playing really, really hard.”
The Pistons led 96-87 with 4:15 to play when the Warriors began to intentionally foul Drummond, who had missed 17 of his last 20 free throws. Detroit coach Dwane Casey pulled him, and the Pistons moved the lead back to 14.
After returning, Drummond split a pair of free throws with 1:17 left, and is now 4 for 22 in his last four games.
TIP INS
Warriors: Golden State was 10-2 when Curry got hurt, but lost six of the 11 games he missed. . The Warriors lost for the third time in 33 games when Durant, Thompson and Curry scored at least 20 points in the same game.
Pistons: The Pistons have won two straight against Golden State after losing 12 of their previous 13 games against the Warriors. . After shooting 38.1 percent from the line in his first five seasons, Drummond improved to 60.5 percent last season. This year, though, he is back down to 47.2 percent.
INJURY REPORT
Golden State center Damian Jones injured his left shoulder in the third quarter and did not return. He was undergoing tests after the game.
UP NEXT
Warriors: Visit the Atlanta Hawks on Monday.
Pistons: Host the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday.
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