Pistons at Warriors
The Golden State Warriors look to maintain their status as the lone
unbeaten team in the NBA when they host the Detroit Pistons on Monday.
Golden State's 7-0 start is its best in the franchise's West Coast
tenure and second overall to the Philadelphia Warriors rolling off nine
straight to begin the 1960-61 campaign.
The Warriors established a season-low point total while recording a 103-94 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Saturday as a poor shooting night included misses on 31 of 39 3-point attempts. Reigning MVP Stephen Curry was one of culprits and was just 2-of-10 from 3-point range while scoring a season-worst 24 points. "Never too high, never too low; that's my motto," Curry said afterward. "I'm not expecting to shoot lights-out every game." Vastly improved Detroit is 2-0 on a six-game road trip after rallying for a 120-103 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday behind stellar performances from point guard Reggie Jackson (career-high 40 points) and standout center Andre Drummond (season-high 29 points to go with 27 rebounds).
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, FSN Detroit, CSN Bay Area (Golden State)
ABOUT THE PISTONS (5-1): Detroit trailed by 13 points after three quarters against Portland before Jackson exploded for 26 final-quarter points as the Pistons outscored the Trail Blazers 41-11. "I wanted to be aggressive in the fourth and I got in a real good groove," Jackson said afterward. "I was making shots. Funny thing is, when I was scoring, I felt like we were scoring. I seen the ball going into the basket, but I didn't necessarily know it was myself putting the ball in there." Meanwhile, the 22-year-old Drummond is on the verge of stardom and already has three 20-point, 20-rebound outings this season and is averaging 20.3 points and a league-leading 20.3 rebounds.
ABOUT THE WARRIORS (7-0): Golden State looks to put the subpar shooting night aside — the Warriors hit 41.3 percent from the field — in what both players and coaches feel was an anomaly. "We couldn't get our shots to go in — it happens," interim coach Luke Walton told reporters. "But we found a way to grind it out. We had some wide-open looks that wouldn't go down. It was one of those random nights." Small forward Harrison Barnes experienced the most struggles by going 4-of-17 from the field and missing all seven 3-point attempts.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Warriors have won the last eight meetings.
2. Jackson has scored 20 or more points in four straight games and is averaging 26.3 points during the span.
3. Golden State C Andrew Bogut (concussion) could be cleared after missing the past six games.