What we learned as Hield, Santos spark Warriors’ win over Pistons

What we learned how Hield and Santos led to the Warriors’ victory over the Pistons originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

CASH SCORE

Collectively, the Warriors listened to the voices of their leadership council and began a four-game road trip the right way, beating the Detroit Pistons 107-104 at Little Caesars Arena on Thursday night.

Did they play perfectly? Nothing of the sort. But his soul and spirit had returned, which should be a huge 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 the Warriors hand the Pistons their first loss of 2025.

Stephen Curry He finished with 17 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and two steals, but was 5 of 21 from the field and 2 of 14 from behind the 3-point line. This time his teammates did not let him down.

Gui Santos He played the biggest minutes of his young career and tied his career high of 13 points while constantly striving to put his body on the line. friend iced had a team-high 19 points, Dennis Schröder gave Golden State 13 points and six assists, and Trayce Jackson-Davis He had a strong double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds.

Here are three takeaways from the Warriors who improved to 19-18 on the season.

Gui Santos’ game

Steve Kerr knew that at some point this season the Warriors’ 14th developmental player would be needed on his roster. That moment happened to be Thursday in Detroit in the 37th game of the season.

Santos, 22, had played 12 games this season for a total of 63 minutes at the start of the day. All of those minutes, however, took place in the second half and mostly in garbage time in the fourth quarter.

With the depleted Warriors extremely shorthanded 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 3-pointers this season and only made it once. However, just 22 seconds into the game, Santos scored a three-pointer. The Warriors made 10 three-pointers in the first quarter, and Santos’ only attempt was the only one that fell. By halftime, Santos had already played a season-high 15 minutes and 28 seconds and was a plus-14 in the game with nine points, two rebounds and steals while going 3-for-4 from 3-point range.

“I’ve been working,” Santos told NBC Sports Bay Area at halftime. “I’m working hard. This is the first game I’ve been 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 have to hit the rim, I will. “I’m just trying to do everything I can to help my teammates do better.”

Kerr didn’t shy away from using Santos in the biggest moments. He played a career-high 25 minutes and earned 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 lingering knee problems and Andrew Wiggins flew back to the Bay Area for personal reasons.

That left Kerr with 10 players available. 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, and several played key roles in giving the Warriors a 10-point lead.

Like Santos, Lindy Waters III also hit three 3-pointers in the first half. Kyle Anderson filled the stat sheet and all 10 players scored at least one point before halftime. Kevon Looney ended up grabbing eight big rebounds and the Warriors’ bench outscored the Pistons’ reserves 37-21.

Everyone deserves credit for this visceral proof of a victory on the first night of a back-to-back.

friends ball

Already with Kuminga and Wiggins down, the Warriors urgently needed a scorer to step up. Curry’s nighttime shooting made it even more imperative. Hield stepped up to the plate and hit a home run in the Motor City.

As the Warriors found themselves on the wrong end of back-to-back horrible losses, Hield went -32 and went 3-for-14 from three, continuing a long stretch in which he struggled to find his signature shot. His performance on Thursday night had to be a sigh of relief for him and many others.

Hield started the Warriors’ scoring by being aggressive, driving to the basket and finishing a left-footed layup. Those were his only two points of the first quarter. But he scored six in the second quarter and eight in the third, hitting both attempts from deep.

His 16 points in three quarters were the most he had scored in a complete game in a month when he scored 27 on December 8. Hield added another three with seven minutes and one 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 three-point percentage.

Download and follow the Dubs Talk podcast