Collectively as a whole, the Warriors heard the voices of their leadership council and started a four-game road trip the right way, outlasting the Detroit Pistons 107-104 at Little Caesars Arena on Thursday night.
Did they play perfectly? Far from it. But their soul and spirit were back, which should be a big confidence boost for a team challenged by its most important voices.
The Warriors outrebounded the Pistons 49-40, had nine steals, seven blocks and 21 second-chance points – 15 more than the home team. All of that helped lead to the Warriors handing the Pistons their first loss of 2025.
Steph Curry finished with 17 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and two steals, but went 5 of 21 from the field and 2 of 14 behind the 3-point line. His teammates didn’t let him down this time.
STEPH CURRY 4-POINT PLAY ‼️
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) January 10, 2025
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Gui Santos played the most important minutes of his young career and tied his career-high of 13 points while constantly hustling to lay his body on the line. Buddy Hield had a team-high 19 points, Dennis Schröder gave Golden State 13 points and six assists, and Trayce Jackson-Davis had a strong 14-point, 10-rebound double-double.
Golden State Warriors
Here are three takeaways from the Warriors improving to 19-18 on the season.
The Gui Santos Game
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Steve Kerr knew at some point this season the Warriors’ developmental 14th player on their roster would be needed. That time turned out to be Thursday in Detroit on the 37th game of the season.
Santos, 22, had played in 12 games this season for a total of 63 minutes coming into the day. All those minutes, however, were in the second half and mostly in garbage time of the fourth quarter.
With the depleted Warriors extremely short-handed on the first night of a back-to-back, Kerr turned to Santos with a little under four minutes left in the first quarter, and his impact immediately was felt.
In his limited minutes, Santos had attempted nine 3-pointers this season and was successful just once. However, a mere 22 seconds into entering the game, Santos splashed a triple. The Warriors took 10 three in the first quarter, and Santos’ one attempt was the only to go down. By halftime, Santos had already played a season-high 15 minutes and 28 seconds, and was a game-high plus-14 with nine points, two rebounds and steals while going 3 of 4 from 3-point range.
Gui Santos drains another 3👌
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) January 10, 2025
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“I’ve been working,” Santos said to NBC Sports Bay Area at halftime. “I’m working hard. This is the first game that I’m part of the rotation, so I’m just trying to play as hard as I can on the court, help my teammates get open shots. If I got to crash the rim, I’m going to do it. I’m just trying to do everything I can to help my teammates do better.”
Kerr did not shy away from using Santos at the most important moments. He played a career-high 25 minutes and was a plus-7 overall in the win.
Gui Santos stayed ready for his opportunity 🙌
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) January 10, 2025
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Strength In Numbers
There’s a reason Kerr had to call Santos’ number so early. The Warriors were again without Jonathan Kuminga, Gary Payton II and Brandin Podziemski. Moses Moody joined the group because of lingering knee issues, and Andrew Wiggins flew back to the Bay Area for personal reasons.
That left Kerr with 10 available players. Nine played in the first quarter, and all 10 saw action in the first half. Seven of the 10 had a positive plus/minus at halftime, with several having key roles in the Warriors holding a 10-point lead.
Like Santos, Lindy Waters III made three 3-pointers in the first half too. Kyle Anderson stuffed the stat sheet, and all 10 players scored at least one point going into halftime. Kevon Looney wound up grabbing eight big rebounds and the Warriors’ bench outscored the Pistons’ reserves 37-21.
Everybody deserves credit in this gut check of a win on the first night of a back-to-back.
Buddy Ball
Already down Kuminga and Wiggins, the Warriors badly had to have a scorer step up. Curry’s off-night shooting the ball made that even more imperative. Hield stepped to the plate and hit a home run in the Motor City.
As the Warriors found themselves on the wrong end of two consecutive terrible losses, Hield was a minus-32 and went 3 of 14 from three, continuing a long stretch of him struggling to find his signature shot. His performance Thursday night had to be a sigh of relief for himself, and multiple others.
Hield began the Warriors’ scoring by being aggressive, driving to the basket and finishing a left-handed layup. Those were his only two points of the first quarter. But he scored six in the second quarter and eight in the third, making both of his tries from deep.
B U D D ☔️
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) January 10, 2025
📺 @NBCSAuthentic pic.twitter.com/NTufqV6HxE
His 16 points through three quarters were the most he had scored in an entire game in one month when had 27 on Dec. 8. Hield added another three with seven and a minutes left in the fourth quarter to give the Warriors a 12-point lead. He now has averaged 15.3 points in eight starts this season with a 43.7 3-point percentage.
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