Warriors win second straight, beat Pistons
Andrew Wiggins of the Golden State Warriors drives against Zach LaVine and Chandler Hutchison #of the Chicago Bulls at the United Center on December 27, 2020 in Chicago, Illinois. Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images/AFP
Andrew Wiggins saved 13 of his 27 points for the final 7:41 Tuesday night as the Golden State Warriors won a second straight on the road, 116-106 over the host Detroit Pistons.
Stephen Curry led all scorers with 31 points as the Warriors, down by as many as 12 in the first half, took advantage of Blake Griffin’s absence after the intermission.
Griffin, who had eight points, five rebounds and three assists in 17 first-half minutes, was inadvertently smacked in the jaw by a James Wiseman forearm. He sat out the second half in concussion protocol.
The Pistons still led 89-86 after a Derrick Rose hoop with 8:22 to go before Wiggins caught fire. He had two 3-pointers and a two-point hoop in a 12-point Warriors flurry that gave the visitors a 98-89 lead with 5:54 to go.
Seeking their first win in four tries, Detroit got within 108-103 on an Isaiah Stewart layup with still 1:42 remaining. But Damion Lee, hero of Golden State’s win at Chicago on Sunday with a 3-pointer with 1.7 seconds remaining, bombed in a three to extend the lead to eight.
Curry shot 9-for-17 and Wiggins 9-for-19 for the Warriors, who entered the game as the league’s worst shooting team before connecting on a season-best 49.3 percent.
Kelly Oubre Jr. added 14 points and Eric Paschall 10 off the bench for Golden State, which opened the season with one-sided losses at Brooklyn and Milwaukee before rebounding against the Bulls and Pistons.
Wiggins also grabbed a team-best seven rebounds.
Jerami Grant had 27 points for the Pistons, who were playing the second night of a back-to-back, having lost 128-120 at Atlanta on Monday.
Josh Jackson (17), Rose (15) and Saddiq Bey (11) also scored in double figures for Detroit, while Mason Plumlee snatched a game-high 10 rebounds.
The Pistons used a 31-21 dominance on the boards to build as many as a 12-point lead in the first half en route to a 51-48 advantage at the break.
Plumlee (four), Grant (three) and Stewart (three) combined for 10 offensive rebounds in the first 24 minutes, helping the Pistons secure a lead despite getting outshot 42.1 percent to 30 percent.
Jackson led all scorers in the half with 12.
