Warriors pass rugged pre-playoff quiz in physical win vs. Pistons

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Warriors pass rugged pre-playoff quiz in physical win vs. Pistons originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO – The revivified Detroit Pistons are the kind of opponent that will bring out best of the Warriors. Or the worst.

The Pistons are long, but that’s something the Warriors can counter effectively. They are bullyish, but the Warriors usually have answers for that. They are young and athletic, too, and that’s where the trouble often begins for Golden State.

All four traits combined often have been oppressive enough to stifle Golden State. But what about the newly formidable post-Jimmy Butler Warriors?

The Pistons weren’t quite enough to stop Butler himself, along with the buoyant Stephen Curry and the irrepressible Gui Santos, Saturday evening. Behind those three, the Warriors summoned enough scrap in the final minutes to wrestle out a 115-110 victory before one of the most enthusiastic sellout crowds (18,064) at Chase Center this season.

“Physicality is where I thrive the most, especially whenever they’re calling fouls for everybody,” Butler said. “I like that. I’ll never complain if the game is physical. If you want to bump into people and you want to hit somebody, I’m one of those guys. That’s how I’m going to play anyway.”

This was, for the post-Jimmy Warriors, a test passed. A mountain conquered. They’ve beaten several quality teams while winning nine consecutive games with Butler in the lineup, but they had not seen a squad as hot and rambunctious as the downright testy Pistons.

“They have a particular style,” said Curry, who scored a game-high 32 points, including 12-of-12 shooting from the foul line. “They play physical, they try to get into you from the jump. Part of the scouting report was [that] they foul the most in the league. You knew it was going to be kind of a slugfest, especially with us coming off the road trip. A very tough game.”

This is kind of game that challenges a smallish team like Golden State, which is built more around skill, savvy and precision rather than pure athletic physicality. And, boy, did the Pistons push and bang and grab….

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/article/warriors-pass-rugged-pre-playoff-232059755.html

Author : NBC Sports BayArea

Publish date : 2025-03-08 23:20:00

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