When you’re a team in transition and you start the season losing your first five games of the year, a split of four games on a west coast road trip is not bad.

The Pistons rally from a 32 point deficit and come up short 101-97 to the Golden State Warriors Monday night.

Golden State’s Monta Ellis led the home team with 27 points, amazingly 21 in the first quarter. He came out blazing, hitting his trademark off-balance jumpers and running one-handers.

Charlie Villanueva led the Pistons with 18 points and 8 rebounds. He knocked down two huge triples late in the fourth.

Detroit lead 21-20 in the first then committed 10 turnovers that led to an astonishing 20-0 Warrior run.

The second half saw the Pistons begin to make up ground once they decided to implore their own zone defense. It allowed the starters to cut the lead down to 18 by quarters end.

The fourth quarter turned out to be the best one for the Pistons, as they outscored the Warriors 28-14. While the home team settled for bad shots and committed turnovers, Detroit was able to use that stretch to their advantage pulling within two 98-96 on a Tracy McGrady layup with 47 seconds left.

Down two with 14 seconds left Detroit had a chance to tie or take the lead, but Ben Gordon tried to split the defense and had the ball knocked away by the Warriors Dorell Wright and Golden State would wind up with possession.

Ellis then had a chance to seal the deal with two free throws, but missed the second leaving the door open for Detroit down only three.

However, the Warriors smartly opted to foul Charlie Villanueva before he could get a shot up, forcing him to shoot free throws. He missed the first and tried to miss the second but the ball crawled into the hoop.

Golden State’s Rodney Carney then nailed two free throws, cementing the victory for the Warriors.

Detroit now heads home for a date with the two-time defending champion Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday at the Palace of Auburn Hills.

Key Points:

• Monta Ellis had as many points (21) as the entire Piston team in the first quarter.
• Austin Daye hit two three-pointers to run his consecutive streak to 10 in a row, which is third all-time, before he missed one in the third quarter.
• Golden State is now 5-0 at home.
• Tayshaun Prince and Coach John Kuester apparently got into a heated exchange on the bench before halftime but they neither made a big deal of it after the game.
• The Warriors introduced their new ownership at the game; they bought the team for a reported $450 Million. Wonder how much the Pistons will go for, better yet who’s going to purchase them?
• The Pistons had six players in double figures. Rodney Stuckey being one of them tallied 11 points, eight rebounds and, six assists. I swear he’s going to pop a triple-double before the season is over.
• Coach Kuester should have gone to the zone sooner.
• Rebound war lost 44-42, 14-9 on the offensive side.
• The Warriors played without David Lee.
• Ben Wallace and Rip Hamilton played only 24 minutes.
• Charlie V. was called for a flagrant foul in the second quarter. If that was a flagrant foul then the NBA has really become a “soft” league. My opinion.
• Warrior fans are some of the best in sports. They pack the house regardless of the team’s record.

Highlights via NBA.com
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