At the time of Draymond Green’s ejection, with 1:25 left, the Warriors trailed by five.
Green had picked up a questionable early technical, then got charged with an even more curious one when he got tangled up with Pistons center Isaiah Stewart.
But to deal with reality, the Warriors needed to get stops without Green, the greatest defender Steve Kerr has ever seen.
Klay Thompson drew two free throws, setting the Warriors defense up for its first test. It answered, with Kevon Looney providing a vertical challenge at the rim.
Looney, one of the many heroes of Monday’s double overtime win over Atlanta, kept alive a miss on the other end, which led to another Thompson bucket. 117-116. Looney again disrupted a Pistons drive at the rim and then closed out for another stop.
Even after another late-game Jordan Poole turnover, the Warriors had a chance to tie the game. Kerr drew up a beautiful inbounds play. Ty Jerome’s overhead pass dropped perfectly into Anthony Lamb’s hands, and Looney’s screen freed Thompson at the perfect time. 3. Tie game. Snarl.
The Warriors needed just one more stop, for one second, with Green in the locker room, to force overtime.
But as time expired, Saddiq Bey’s prayer fell through nylon, giving the Pistons a 122-119 victory. The Warriors (20-19) had won five games in a row in a perfect home stand before the devastating loss.
Here are three takeaways from Golden State’s loss.
The Two-Ways can play
Down Stephen Curry, Andrew Wiggins, Jonathan Kuminga, James Wiseman, and JaMychal Green, the Warriors knew their depth would be tested.
Any time a team has five players sidelined, the back half of their roster gets stress-tested. For the Warriors, that meant bigger loads for two-way contributors Anthony Lamb and Ty Jerome.
Lamb in particular has been sturdy all season, but both have been terrific during Golden State’s five-game winning streak entering Wednesday. Jerome dropped 17 last week against the Jazz and was +23 in GSW’s surprise win over Memphis. Lamb has played at least 17 minutes in each of the past five games and broke out during Golden State’s marathon win over Atlanta.
Lamb hit three of his first four 3-pointers — two off the catch in the corner and one on a handoff late in the shot clock.
Then in the second quarter, he found Klay Thompson on a backdoor cut with a beautiful one-handed pass. The next possession, he pump-faked and drove for an and-1 layup.
In the third quarter, Lamb pushed himself off a rebound, going coast-to-coast for an and-1.
Jerome made a nice play in transition, too, up-faking a defender for an and-1 floater. His floater game and craftiness was on display all night, leading to 18 points in 27 minutes.
Kerr trusted the pair enough to use them as main catalysts on the beautifully executed inbounds play to tie the game.
When it comes to the back-end of their roster, the Warriors have a type. It’s no coincidence that Lamb and Jerome are two of the most cerebral players on the team. It takes a special basketball mind to pick up the way of the Warriors seamlessly, and it seems like Lamb and Jerome have the requisite instincts.
Bojan Bogdanovic could tilt the NBA balance of power
Against the Warriors, Bojan Bogdanovic looked like the perfect complementary player for a contender. Only he was doing it for the 10-30 Pistons.
Bogdanovic can hit 3s off the catch and off the bounce, draw fouls, post up smaller defenders, run off screens and defend up the positional spectrum. He doesn’t need to pound the rock to be effective, but he can create for himself.
The 33-year-old forward dropped 10 points in the opening quarter and entered halftime with 17 on nine field goal attempts.
During crunch time, the Pistons’ offense ran through Bogdanovic. He canned a miracle 3 at the end of the shot clock and flashed pick-and-roll skills, finding two 3-point shooters with nifty assists.
Bogdanovic finished with 29 points on 10-for-15 shooting, adding five assists and two steals.
His contract expires after this season, making him a prime candidate to be dealt at the Feb. 9 trade deadline. His $19.4 million salary isn’t particularly difficult for most teams to absorb, or match.
Any contender would be better for June with Bogdanovic. Might the Warriors make a run at him to bolster their second unit?
Struggling to limit dribble penetration
Kerr lauded the Pistons’ ability to get downhill pregame. Detroit hasn’t excelled at much this year, but they rank first in the league in free throw attempts per game — a barometer for Kerr’s broad assessment.
Detroit’s aggression showed in the Chase Center. A hot shooting start helped get Golden State’s defense out of position, but it seemed like the Pistons could get into the paint at will. Rookie Jaden Ivey in particular beat his man off the dribble with consistency.
Ivey and the Pistons slashed into the paint so frequently, big man Jalen Duren posted a career-high 18 points — mostly on lob dunks. The Warriors tried a zone in an effort to slow down their drives.
The Pistons, ranked 25th in offensive rating, dropped 91 points in three quarters. They finished with 122 one game after Atlanta hung 140 on the Warriors.
Most of Golden State’s issues defensively started with its guards not providing enough resistance outside.
Defending without fouling and containing the perimeter have been common areas of weaknesses for the Warriors this year.
Ironically, the Warriors played perfect defense on the biggest shot of the game — Bey’s game-winner.