Detroit @ Golden State preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 24, 2019 ) Detroit 114, Golden State 121

The optimism the Golden State Warriors generated with a four-game winning streak surrounding Christmas has been wiped away with a three-game slide surrounding the New Year. The Warriors will take another shot at earning their first win of 2020 when they host the Detroit Pistons on Saturday.

Golden State put up a fight in a 117-113 overtime loss at San Antonio on Tuesday but could not muster the energy while closing the road trip at Minnesota on Thursday and dropped a 99-84 decision. "Every game, we've got to come out with a sense of urgency and a sense of fight," Warriors guard Damion Lee told reporters. "I just felt like, at the beginning of the game, it was kind of back and forth a little bit. We had some miscommunications, some defensive breakdowns." The Pistons are losers of three straight and eight of nine and are enduring a six-game road trip that saw them fall at San Antonio, Utah and the Los Angeles Clippers by an average of 21.3 points. "I can't pinpoint it," Detroit guard Langston Galloway told reporters. "Some turnovers here and there and they're capitalizing on it, but I don't really know. We just can't figure it out right now."

TIME: 8:30 p.m. ET. TV: FS Detroit, NBCS Bay Area, TSN

ABOUT THE PISTONS (12-23): The Pistons are battling the injury bug and sat Blake Griffin (knee), Marcus Morris (foot) and Luke Kennard (knee) during Thursday's 126-112 loss to the Clippers. The absences opened up playing time for youngsters like rookie forward Sekou Doumbouya, who collected nine points and 11 rebounds in 27 minutes while drawing the defensive assignment against Los Angeles star Kawhi Leonard. "I was impressed with the way he gave us physicality," Pistons coach Dwane Casey told reporters of Doumbouya. "You're guarding one of the best players on the planet in Kawhi Leonard, knowing he wasn't going to get any mercy from the officials. He was aggressive. He didn't know any better not to be. I was really happy he was one of our leading rebounders. That was as important as anything else."

ABOUT THE WARRIORS (9-27): Injuries have been the theme for Golden State this season and it finished the road trip with D'Angelo Russell (shoulder), Kevon Looney (abdomen) and Willie Cauley-Stein (illness) on the bench and day-to-day. Glenn Robinson III led the team with 16 points against the Timberwolves after matching a season-high with 25 points on 10-of-17 shooting at San Antonio and scored in double figures in seven of the last 10 games. Lee was held to 10 points on 4-of-11 shooting at Minnesota, snapping a string of six straight games scoring at least 14 points.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Warriors PF Eric Paschall (hip) scored 13 points in 26 minutes Thursday after totaling 14 points in his previous four games.

2. Detroit C Andre Drummond recorded his 28th double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds on Thursday.

3. The teams split the two-game series in each of the last two seasons.

PREDICTION: Warriors 101, Pistons 98