AUBURN HILLS, Mich. _ With two days until the Christmas showdown, the Warriors' most dangerous _ and important _ five-man lineup got a tune-up test in Auburn Hills against the Pistons.
Klay Thompson entered for Zaza Pachulia with 2:24 left. The Warriors trailed by one. He joined Steph Curry, Andre Iguodala, Kevin Durant and Draymond Green. Should a crunch-time situation present itself in Cleveland on Christmas or, more importantly, come May and June, these five, together, are expected to decide Golden State's season.
After an up-and-down start, they've gelled into the terrorizers many expected. The latest example came Friday night, when they closed out another Warrior win: 119-113 over the Pistons to bump Golden State's record to an NBA-best 27-4.
The Death Lineup or Hamptons 5 or whatever you want to call it congregated down one. They finished off the final 2:24 with a 12-5 run, spurting away for a six-point win.
It started on the glass. Rebounding is supposed to be this lineup's potential soft spot. But after Draymond Green missed a floater, Andre Iguodala squirmed in for a huge extra possession. He kicked it to Kevin Durant at the top of the key. Durant lined up a 27-foot go-ahead 3, capping his great offensive night: 32 points on 13-of-18 shooting.
The Warriors now led by two. On a switch, Pistons point guard Reggie Jackson finagled his way into a driving foul on Green. His two free throws tied it. Then the Warriors took over.
On the next possession, Green zipped by the slower Andre Drummond _ this would become a theme _ for a cutting backdoor dunk, set up by Curry. Green had missed the Warriors previous game while attending the birth of his son in the Bay Area. Despite pleas from Steve Kerr, Bob Myers and Joe Lacob, he rejoined the team in his home state of Michigan, determined to play his lone home game per season near his home.
Green, who got in at 6:30 a.m. on Friday, struggled all night, missing his first six shots. He only had one basket, that late dunk to put the Warriors up for good. Then on the next possession, he battled off Drummond on a post-up while Klay Thompson forced a Kentavious Caldwell-Pope airball.
Thompson nailed a pair of jumpers on the next two possessions, the last of which was a dagger 3 set up by a great Green screen and an unaware Drummond failing to get out. It sealed the win.
The Cavaliers are up next.
