Warriors Begin Road Trip
They’ve already met once this season, but the Detroit Pistons may not recognize the Golden State Warriors this time.
The Warriors (13-10) look for their 14th win in 18 games on Sunday when they start a five-game road trip at Detroit.
Oddsmakers from SBG Global have made Detroit –6.5 point spread favorites (NBA Odds) for today’s game, the over/under has been set at 206.5 total points (Matchup). Our public betting information shows that 69% of bets for this game have been placed on Detroit –6.5 (View NBA Bet Percentages).
The Pistons rallied from a 22-point deficit to beat the Warriors in Oakland on Nov. 14, dropping Golden State to 0-6. But since that loss, the Warriors have played more reminiscent of the way they closed 2006-07, when they won nine of their last 10 regular-season games and upset Dallas in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs.
Coach Don Nelson’s team won nine of 10 again following its loss to Detroit and Golden State’s 108-106 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday was its 13th in the last 17 games.
Though he picked up his fifth foul with 6:37 left in the third quarter, Baron Davis never fouled out, and that proved to be the difference. He hit the last of his five 3-pointers with 16.8 seconds to play to put Golden State up four and seal the victory. Davis – one of four Warriors to score at least 19 – had eight of his 22 points in the final 3:19.
"That’s when he plays big,” said Stephen Jackson, who had 20 points and eight rebounds. "That’s when he steps up and puts the team on his back. He’s done it many times.”
Davis is averaging 22.8 points – the most since he averaged a career-high 22.9 in 2003-04 with New Orleans – to go along with 8.3 assists and a career-best 5.2 rebounds. He’s also among the league leaders with 2.5 steals per game.
The Pistons (16-7) have won eight of their last 10 and outscored their opponents by 13.9 points per game during that stretch.
Detroit scored a season-low 77 points and shot a season-worst 36 percent from the floor in a loss to Houston on Wednesday but rebounded with a 91-81 win over the Hawks on Friday, their third victory in as many tries against Atlanta this season.
Jason Maxiell scored 10 of the Pistons’ 24 bench points and added eight rebounds. Detroit outscored the Hawks by 21 in the 30 minutes Maxiell played.
"That’s been a constant for us,” said guard Chauncey Billups, who scored 23 points. "Our bench comes in every night and gives us good energy.”
Golden State swept last season’s series with the Pistons by an average of 25 points, and snapped an 11-game losing streak at The Palace of Auburn Hills with a 111-93 rout March 5.
"They’re right now playing probably as well as anybody in the league," Pistons coach Flip Saunders told the team’s official Web site.
Detroit will likely be playing its first game with new acquisitions Primoz Brezec and Walter Herrmann, acquired Friday from Charlotte for center Nazr Mohammed.
Mohammed is due about $25 million in a deal that runs through the 2010-11 season, while Brezec and Herrmann are in the final year of their deals.
"We get great financial relief, and it is a deal we had to make from that perspective, but we are also getting two guys we like,” said Pistons president of basketball operations Joe Dumars. "These are two players that we’ve talked to Charlotte about in the past.”
By: Marc Young – theSpread.com – Email Us
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