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Green’s six blocks help Warriors fend off Pistons, complete undefeated road trip

By

Kerry Crowley

/

It was the final contest of the longest road trip of the season, and quite frankly, most Warriors’ players would have preferred to skip the game and fly home early.

After winning their first five games of the trip but losing the services of point guard Steph Curry to a sprained ankle, Steve Kerr called the team’s stop at the Detroit MGM Grand, their final hotel of the the trip, a “soul-sucking” experience.

On Friday night, it was Golden State’s turn to suck the soul out of Detroit. With a dominant defensive performance that featured 15 blocks, including six from Michigan native Draymond Green, the Warriors fended off the Pistons in a 102-98 final to cap off a perfect 6-0 road trip.

The defensive effort went whistle-to-whistle, as Golden State didn’t commit a foul on a wild drive attempt by Detroit guard Reggie Jackson in the closing seconds that could have tied the game.

Just as he did on Wednesday night, Kevin Durant took the reins of the offense in the absence of Curry, and reminded everyone how special his game is when he’s taking the lion’s share of his team’s shots. And thanks to a slow start from Durant’s colleagues, the Warriors leaned on their 7-foot star to keep the team afloat against a rugged Detroit squad that issued Golden State a defeat at Oracle Arena earlier this season.

After exploding for 35 points on Wednesday night in Charlotte, Durant was the only Warriors’ player in double figures until late in the third quarter when Klay Thompson hit a three-pointer to cross the 10-point threshold. Durant wound up pouring in 36 points on 12-for-23 shooting, but he was single-handedly able to fend off a Pistons team that had four different players with double-digit point totals by the middle of the third quarter.

While Durant doesn’t play much isolation ball when Curry is on the floor, he took advantage of the opportunity on Friday night and produced a pair of highlight reel buckets by crossing up former Warriors’ forward Anthony Tolliver. On one occasion, Durant went left to right to beat Tolliver on the baseline and on a second one-on-one showdown, Durant crossed Tolliver over twice and pulled up for a sweet midrange jumper.

Durant was active on the defensive end of the floor as well, racking up six blocks and joining starting center JaVale McGee (2) and Draymond Green with multiple rejections. McGee found himself in the starting lineup for the second time in three games due to a shoulder injury ailing Zaza Pachulia, and he earned a spot on the highlight tape with a physical rejection of Pistons’ center Andre Drummond.

Drummond’s presence was likely one of the reasons Kerr didn’t push Pachulia to play on Friday, because he’s one of the last classic true centers remaining in the NBA. Still, even though Drummond is one Detroit’s best assets, Golden State was able to have a say in the paint thanks to McGee’s efforts, as well as the play of rookie Jordan Bell who produced another epic block against the Pistons.

The unsung hero of the night for Golden State might have been David West, who was able to counter the Pistons in the post and was the third player to reach double figures on the night behind Durant and Thompson. Though West’s final plus-minus didn’t reflect a great all-around performance, the Warriors’ second unit that West played with was short-handed because two of its key players were thrust into the starting lineup.

Following their longest road trip of the year, the Warriors now have an opportunity to fly home and get healthy. Golden State plays just two games over the next nine days, and doesn’t leave the state of California for the rest of the month, with a single road contest coming on December 18 against the Lakers at Staples Center.

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