AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) — Draymond Green made a tiebreaking dunk with 1:31 left and Kevin Durant scored 32 points despite playing in foul trouble, lifting the Golden State Warriors to 119-113 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Friday night.
The NBA-leading Warriors have won seven straight, rolling with their new star, Durant, as they head into their Christmas NBA Finals rematch in Cleveland.
The Pistons have lost five in a row.
Golden State had a season-high 23 turnovers, surpassing the 20 it had in a 20-point loss Nov. 4 against the Los Angeles Clippers, and Detroit took advantage of them to score 33 points.
Stephen Curry had 25 points and eight assists, Klay Thompson scored 17 points, including two on a lead-padding jumper with 22 seconds to go, and reserve JaVale McGee added 15.
Detroit’s Tobias Harris scored a season-high 26 points in his first game this season off the bench. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope had 25 points, Reggie Jackson scored 17 and Andre Drummond had 15 points and nine rebounds.
TIP-INS
Warriors: Green scored just five points, but had game highs with 12 assists and 10 rebounds in his return from a one-game absence. Green said he was on an airplane in New York before it took off for San Francisco on Thursday morning and watched the birth of his son, Draymond Jamal Green , via FaceTime. He spent the day with his newborn son and girlfriend, Jelissa Hardy, in California before rejoining his team for Friday night’s game. The forward had the option of staying home, but said it would’ve been selfish to accept the offer because his son and girlfriend were healthy and his teammates have kids of all ages they leave behind for games.
Pistons: Jon Leuer replaced Harris in the starting lineup and it might’ve served to motivate Harris. It didn’t help Detroit early, as it fell behind before rallying in what was a closely contested game the rest of the night. In his first start of the season, Leuer didn’t score as much as he has lately. He had eight points, slightly less than his 11.2 average and fewer than the 17-plus points he scored the previous three games.
UP NEXT
Warriors: Play at Cleveland on Sunday.
Pistons: Host the Cavs on Monday night.
