AUBURN HILLS, Mich. Cassius Marsh Shirts . -- Stephen Curry didnt shoot all that well -- and Golden State won anyway. The Warriors figure thats a good sign at the start of a lengthy road trip. "Its not necessarily going to be flash and fun every night," Golden States Jermaine ONeal said. "If were going to have a chance to really compete for a championship, these are the types of games youre going to have to win in the playoffs. We have a fairly young team and these games like this build the character and the image of the team." Curry had 19 points, nine assists and eight rebounds, and the Warriors clamped down on the Detroit Pistons in the second half of a 104-96 victory Monday night. Klay Thompson scored 19 points for Golden State, which has won four in a row. The Pistons have lost five of seven since firing Maurice Cheeks and replacing him with interim coach John Loyer. Curry went 6 of 15 from the field and was only 3 of 9 from three-point range, but he repeatedly found teammates for open shots on the perimeter. "I tried to press a little in the third quarter," Curry said. "It didnt work out my way, so I tried to stay positive. Other guys were making plays, so it was kind of a team effort." The Warriors were still without David Lee, who has been dealing with a stomach flu. Andrew Bogut returned from a left shoulder injury and played 29 minutes before fouling out. It was the opener of a six-game road trip for Golden State. Greg Monroe had 23 points for the Pistons, who scored only 13 points in the fourth quarter. The Pistons were only down 63-62 at halftime but couldnt replicate that offensive success. "We took it to the finish line. We just didnt cross it," Loyer said. "You get to the last 2 or 3 minutes, thats what you are trying to get to in the NBA game. We have to get to the point where we can finish them." The Warriors have won six straight over the Pistons for the first time since a seven-game streak from 1975-76. Detroit trailed 95-94 after Monroes layup with 4:11 to play, but the Pistons didnt score again until the final minute. Golden State was progressively stingier in each quarter, allowing 37 points in the first before holding Detroit to 25, 21 and 13 in the remaining three. "We were trying to work the ball inside, but they were giving us a lot of tough angles and we couldnt get the offensive rebounds," Detroits Kyle Singler said. "You cant play one-and-done offence against a team that can put up points like Golden State. Theyve got shooters no matter where you look." The Warriors bench outscored Detroits 42-15. Golden State (35-22) is a season-high 13 games over .500. Detroit (23-34) is fading from the playoff race in the Eastern Conference. The Pistons are now four games behind eighth-place Atlanta. Josh Smith had 18 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists for Detroit but shot 9 of 24 from the field. The first half was an entertaining one. Curry had a four-point play in the first quarter -- just 40 seconds after Brandon Jennings had one for Detroit. There was also a dunk by Thompson on Singler that left the Detroit forward so off balance he fell into a row of cameramen near the basket. NOTES: Michigan State coach Tom Izzo was seated courtside, and Spartans standout Adreian Payne was nearby. Draymond Green, a former star at Michigan State, had six points and five rebounds for Golden State. "Adreian will be here on this level in a few months, so it was good for him to get to see a game up close and be able to see me play," Green said. "It was also good to see Coach Izzo. Four years with him, it hasnt changed. Hell still call me and tell me what Im doing wrong, and Ill call him and tell him what hes doing wrong." ... ONeal and Detroits Andre Drummond were hit with a double technical foul in the first quarter when they both went spilling into the same area for cameramen that Singler fell into. Green and Smith received technical fouls in the third, apparently for jawing at each other. Paul Richardson Shirts . Ashley Wagner will skate in the womens short program for a U.S. team thats in seventh place. Davis and White won the silver medal at the Vancouver Games and are two-time world champions. Justin Britt Womens Jersey . England star Jermain Defoe is scoring goals as befitting his monster salary. American international Michael Bradley is pulling the strings in midfield. SAN ANTONIO -- Unable to comfortably separate from the young Toronto Raptors, the San Antonio Spurs turned to a proven finishing formula - Tony Parker driving for layups when he wasnt kicking the ball to open teammates on the perimeter. Parker had 26 points and eight assists and San Antonio beat Toronto 112-99 Monday night. "We won that game because of Tony Parkers aggressiveness," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "His juice; his aggression all night long. And we made some 3s in the fourth quarter. Those are the two reasons we won the game." Parker had eight points and three assists in the final quarter, committing just one turnover in 9 minutes. "A win is a win," Parker said. "Theyve been playing well, the Raptors. They had a big win in (Oklahoma City) and they made it hard on us." Coming off a 104-98 victory over the Thunder on Sunday, the Raptors got within three or less on numerous occasions in the second half, but couldnt complete the rallies against the Spurs. "It was a superior team, I think, first of all," Toronto coach Dwane Casey said. "You talk about one of the top teams in the West. Talking to the Oklahoma City coach, they feel the same way about how tough San Antonio is." Toronto trailed 57-56 after DeMar DeRozans 3 with 9:22 left in the third quarter, but Parker and Tim Duncan combined for eight points to rebuilding San Antonios lead to 67-59. In his second game off the bench after starting the Spurs first 26 games, Danny Green hit a pair of 3s to put San Antonio up 90-80 with just under 8 minutes remaining. Green was 4 for 6 on 3-pointers in scoring 14 points for the Spurs (21-7). "I didnt bench him because he wasnt making shots," Popovich said. "You dont bench people because theyre not making shots. We changed the look and changed the rotation a little bit. It could change again." The change helped San Antonio overcome a Toronto team that had gone 4-2 since trading leading scorer Rudy Gay to Sacramento on Dec. 9. Kyle Lowry and Terrence&nnbsp;Ross had 23 points each and DeRozan added 13 points for the Raptors (11-15). Kevin Norwood Shirts. Ross was 3 for 6 on 3s and 10 for 16 overall. Toronto kept pace despite giving up 16 offensive rebounds, being outscored 52-36 in the paint and allowing San Antonio to score a season-high 24 second-chance points. The Raptors also had 13 turnovers. "That was the kicker," Casey said. "That was difference in the game, our turnovers and the defensive glass. We didnt do a good job of turning and finding the body and thats mental fatigue. We had been doing a good job of keeping people off the glass and attacking the basket, but youre not talking about chopped liver in San Antonio. They are going to be in the money at the end of the season." The bench again provided San Antonio a lift, with Ginobili and Patty Mills each hitting a 3 as the reserves outscored their peers 18-2 in the second quarter. Ginobilis 3 gave the Spurs their largest lead at 52-43 with 2:20 remaining in the half. Still, Toronto closed a three-game road trip with victories over Oklahoma City and the Dallas Mavericks. "Were happy with it, we wanted to be greedy and get 3-0, but 2-1 against these three teams is pretty good, well take it," Lowry said. NOTES: DeRozan was assessed a technical foul with 4:33 remaining in the first quarter for continuing to argue a continuation call against him after official Lauren Holtkamp warned him, "Thats enough." . The Spurs recalled G Nando De Colo and F Malcolm Thomas from their developmental team in Austin. De Colo had 31 points, nine assists, six rebounds and four steals in a 131-94 victory over the Delaware 87ers on Saturday. . Former Spurs C David Robinson received a loud ovation, including applause from officials Holtkamp, Danny Crawford and Tony Brown, when he appeared on the big screen at midcourt to acknowledge his military service. . Steve Novaks streak of turnover-free play ended at 202 minutes after entering with 3 minutes left in the game. It was the longest active streak in the league. ' ' '
