What we learned when Hield, Santos sparked Warriors’ win over Pistons originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
BOX SCORE
As a whole, the Warriors heard the voices of their leadership council and started a four-game road trip on the right foot, defeating 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 key voices.
The Warriors defeated the Pistons 49-40, had nine steals, seven blocks and 21 second-chance points – 15 more than the home team. All of that led 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 from behind the 3-point line. His teammates did not let him down this time.
Gui Santos played the biggest minutes of his young career, matching his career-high of 13 points while constantly rushing to put 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.
Here are three insights from the Warriors who have improved to 19-18 this season.
The Gui Santos game
Steve Kerr knew that at some point this season the Warriors’ 14th developmental player would be needed on their roster. That time turned out to be the 37th game of the season on Thursday in Detroit.
The 22-year-old Santos played in twelve games this season, a total of 63 minutes per day. However, all those minutes came in the second half and especially 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 just under four minutes left in the first quarter, and his impact was felt immediately.
In his limited minutes, Santos had attempted nine three-pointers this season and was successful just once. However, just 22 seconds after entering the game, Santos hit a triple. The Warriors took 10 threes in the first quarter, and Santos’ lone attempt was the only one that went down. By halftime, Santos had already played a game-high 15 minutes, 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.
“I’ve been working,” Santos told NBC Sports Bay Area at halftime. “I work hard. This is the first game where I’m part of the rotation, so I’m just trying to play as hard as I can on the court and help my teammates get open shots. If I have to crash the rim, I will. I just try to do whatever 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.
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 due to ongoing knee problems, 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 ten saw action in the first half. Seven of the ten had a positive plus/minus at halftime, with several playing key roles in the Warriors taking a ten-point lead.
Like Santos, Lindy Waters III also made three three-pointers in the first half. Kyle Anderson filled the stat sheet and all ten players scored at least one point at halftime. Kevon Looney ultimately grabbed eight big rebounds and the Warriors’ bench outscored the Pistons’ reserves 37-21.
Everyone deserves credit in this examination of a win on the first night of a back-to-back.
Buddy ball
The Warriors already had Kuminga and Wiggins behind them and desperately needed to add a goal scorer. Curry’s off-night shooting with the ball made that even more important. Hield stepped up to the plate and hit a home run in the Motor City.
With the Warriors finding themselves on the wrong end of two straight awful losses, Hield was minus-32 and went 3-of-14 from three while struggling for a long stretch to find his signature shot. His performance on Thursday evening must have been a sigh of relief for himself and several others.
Hield started the scoring for the Warriors 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 tries from deep.
His 16 points through three quarters were the most he had scored in an entire game in one month, when he had 27 on December 8. Hield added three more with seven and a minute left in the fourth quarter to give the Warriors a 12-point lead. . He has now averaged 15.3 points in eight starts this season with a 43.7 3-point percentage.
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