Stephen Curry was back after a night off and all was well again for the Golden State Warriors.
Curry on Sunday had 26 points and Klay Thompson added 24 as the Warriors rebounded a night after a blowout loss with a 121-114 win over the Detroit Pistons.
The Warriors fell 126-91 to the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday, but that was with Curry resting on the bench. He came back strong against the Pistons, while Golden State also got 14 points and 11 assists from Kevin Durant.
Photo: AP
Draymond Green added 14 points and eight assists.
Warriors guard Shaun Livingston, who had eight points off the bench, said having Curry on the court was of the “utmost importance for sure. He’s kind of the engine of the team. His pace and his gravity on the court, it opens up the game for all of us.”
Curry said there was a sense of intensity from the start after the big loss.
“Nobody felt good about that, even the guys that didn’t play,” said Curry, who had played 49 straight games before Saturday. “You could see that sense of urgency, especially in the first quarter to set the tone and try to make the game as easy as possible on ourselves for 48 minutes.”
The win moved the Warriors (50-23) back to first seed in the Western Conference by half a game over the Nuggets (49-23).
The Pistons slipped to seventh in the Eastern Conference with the loss.
Blake Griffin had 24 points and eight assists to lead Detroit. Luke Kennard hit three three-pointers and had 20 points off the bench.
“We are all right, we are playing good basketball,” Pistons guard Ish Smith said. “We are just playing [the best teams in the West].”
DeMarcus Cousins and Andre Iguodala sat out for the Warriors. Cousins is not playing in any back-to-back contests this season while recovering from an Achilles tendon injury.
Green hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to give the Warriors a 63-49 halftime lead and Golden State led 97-77 entering the fourth.
The Pistons got within nine points with five minutes left, but a long three-pointer by Curry gave the Warriors back their double-digit lead until the final seconds.
Also on Sunday, it was:
‧ Hornets 115, Raptors 114
‧ Bucks 127, Cavaliers 105
‧ Rockets 113, Pelicans 90
‧ Spurs 115, Celtics 96
‧ Pacers 124, Nuggets 88
‧ Clippers 124, Knicks 113
‧ Lakers 111, Kings 106
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