Pistons at Warriors
The Detroit Pistons are watching their season fall apart and are unlikely to get any help on their current road trip. The Pistons could not find a way around one of the worst teams in the league to start the trip Tuesday and will try to snap a seven-game slide against the best when they visit the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday. Detroit is 5 1/2 games out of the No. 8 spot in the East, while the Warriors lead the West by 5 1/2.
Golden State owns the best home record in the NBA at 27-2 and has taken six straight in its own building, including breezing through a three-game homestand last week. The Warriors made a brief detour to the road to blast the Phoenix Suns 98-80 on Monday and will play seven of the next eight at home as they try to lock up the best record in the league. Detroit is hoping to get a better effort from center Andre Drummond, who was held to two points and seven rebounds in a 104-93 home loss to Golden State on Nov. 30.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, FSN Detroit, CSN Bay Area (Golden State)
ABOUT THE PISTONS (23-40): Drummond put up 14 points and 21 rebounds at the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday while Greg Monroe added 24 points and nine boards. The two combined to go 17-of-25 from the field but the rest of the team was 15-of-58 in the 93-85 loss to the Lakers, and Detroit has slumped to an average of 91.8 points over the last five games. Reggie Jackson, who was the team’s biggest acquisition at the trade deadline, struggled to two points on 1-of-9 shooting with three assists and five turnovers Tuesday and is shooting 37.8 percent in the last five games.
ABOUT THE WARRIORS (50-12): All-Star Stephen Curry has been making regular highlight plays over the past few games and buried seven 3-pointers in the win at Phoenix – the fifth time in six games that he has drained at least five. Curry went 1-of-5 from beyond the arc in the first half against the Suns but was a different player after getting a talking to from coach Steve Kerr at the half. “Steph responded the right way, and that’s what you expect out of your star player,” forward Draymond Green told the San Francisco Chronicle. “When you can challenge the star, everyone else has to accept it. If Steph responds that way, who am I to not respond the right way? Anytime your star can handle that type of criticism, it’s great for the rest of the team.”
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Warriors are 32-0 when holding the opponent under 100 points.
2. Detroit G Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is 25-of-79 from the field over the last six games.
3. Golden State has taken seven straight in the series.