SAN FRANCISCO — Only two teams had beaten the Golden State Warriors inside the Chase Center before Wednesday, one of the most difficult arenas to leave with a victory.
The Indiana Pacers and Denver Nuggets accomplished that rare feat, and the Pistons became the third team to hand the Warriors a loss in their home arena with a 122-119 win on Wednesday.
Golden State was 17-2 at home entering the game, the best home record in the NBA, and had won six straight games inside the Chase Center. Detroit led for the majority of the contest, but the Warriors made several runs to keep the game close until the its waning moments.
The Pistons led by three points when Klay Thompson nailed a 3-pointer to tie the game with one second left. However, Saddiq Bey saved the day with an off-balance triple of his own at the buzzer to seal the win for the Pistons.
Bey, who finished with 17 points, gave the Pistons some extra breathing room late in the game with a 3-pointer to extend their lead to 117-112 with 1:24 remaining. However, after two free throws and a layup by Thompson, Detroit's lead was cut to one with 40 seconds left.
The Pistons had a chance to increase their lead, but Isaiah Stewart missed a 3-pointer in the corner. Alec Burks made a defensive stand on the other end of the floor and stole the ball from Poole, leading to two free throws for Killian Hayes to give Detroit a 119-116 lead with 4.2 seconds left.
Thompson, who was coming off a 54-point explosion against the Atlanta Hawks, struggled to find his shot until the fourth quarter. He nailed two 3-pointers to bring the Warriors within one with 4:35 left. He finished with a team-high 27 points on 10-of-22 from the field.
The Pistons had a 108-107 lead with 3:45 remaining when Bojan Bogdanovic connected on his fifth consecutive 3-pointer of the game. Poole, who tallied 24 points, nailed a step-back 20-footer to bring the Warriors back within two points. He countered an Burks 3-pointer with another step-back, but this time from beyond the 3-point line.
With the win, the Pistons sweep the two-game season series against the Warriors after previously beating them in Detroit.
Anthony Lamb added 17 points off the bench for the Warriors. Ty Jerome had 18 points. Saginaw native Draymond Green had four points, eight rebounds and seven assists.
Here are some takeaways from Wednesday's win:
Bojan Bogdanovic's hot night
Bogdanovic was the spark that led the Pistons' explosive charge on offense throughout the game. The veteran forward, fresh off his milestone of becoming the NBA's all-time leading scorer from Croatia, found a rhythm early on and scored from all three levels of the floor. He connected on both of his 3-point attempts, banked in a mid-range jumper and got to the free-throw line for a couple of easy ones. Even when Bogdanovic got trapped on the floor, he was able to secure the ball and find Jalen Duren cutting to the basket for an easy dunk. He finished with a team-high 29 points, four rebounds and five assists.
Hayes' return
Killian Hayes did a good job running the offense and finding his teammates in his first game back from a three-game suspension. When Detroit was in the midst of an offensive lull, he found Jalen Duren inside the paint for a dunk. Late in the second quarter, Hayes collected his sixth assist of the night when he led a fast break and threw a lob to Duren for a one-handed alley-oop. The synergy between Hayes and Duren was felt throughout the night in their various pick-and-roll situations and lob connections. Hayes didn't have the greatest shooting night, making just 3-of-12 from the field, but the offense was more efficient and his presence allowed Jaden Ivey to play off the ball. Hayes knocked down his first 3-pointer when the Pistons needed it most as he drained a triple midway through the fourth quarter to extend Detroit's lead to five.
Big man rotations
Wednesday's game marked the first game without Marvin Bagley III, who suffered a right metacarpal fracture in Monday's loss to the Trail Blazers. As a result, Pistons coach Dwane Casey started both halves with Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart on the floor together, and later staggered them with the second unit. Before the game, Casey mentioned that Nerlens Noel would receive playing time in the case of foul trouble for either Duren or Stewart, but both players remained disciplined on the defensive end. Stewart finished with 13 points and seven rebounds. His highlight of the game came in the second quarter when he was trapped in the corner but was able to put the ball on the floor and attack the basket for an explosive dunk.
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