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Warriors kick off road trip vs. Pistons

Nov 7, 2010 - 3:37 PM (Sports Network) - The improved Golden State Warriors open up a five-game road trip on Sunday when they visit The Palace of Auburn Hills to take on the Detroit Pistons.

The Warriors improved to a perfect 4-0 at ORACLE Arena on Friday when Monta Ellis recorded 23 points and a career-high seven steals, and Golden State won a rare low-scoring affair by beating the Utah Jazz, 85-78.

The Warriors, typically a team that breaks 100 points in every game, won without scoring 90 points for the first time since April 15, 2006.

Stephen Curry returned from injury that cost him two games and posted 20 points and six assists for the Warriors, who have won four of their first five on the year and are 4-0 at home for the first time since 1990-91, when they won their first six as the host. Meanwhile, the team is off to its best start since racing out to a 5-0 mark during the 1994-95 campaign.

David Lee provided a low-post presence with 14 points and 15 boards in the win, and center Andris Biedrins had 20 rebounds for the fourth time in his career.

"We really focused on defense for the last three years. It's just that we have more guys that feed into it, more guys that are willing to play defense," Ellis said. "Even though our offense wasn't going well tonight, we stuck around with our defense."

Golden State still must prove they can win on the road, however, and will also visit Toronto, New York, Chicago and Milwaukee on its current trek.

The Pistons, meanwhile, earned their first win of the season on Friday when Ben Gordon finished with 20 points and Richard Hamilton added 16 as Detroit topped Charlotte, 97-90.

Tayshaun Prince had 14 points, and Charlie Villanueva and Tracy McGrady both added 10 points in the win for Detroit, which avoided its first 0-6 start since 1980.

"It feels good to finally get a win," said Gordon. "I'm still not happy with the way we're playing, but it's something to build off of. We've just got to continue to work."

Embattled second-year coach John Kuester decided to bench Rodney Stuckey against the Bobcats after the point guard ignored his mentor in Wednesday's 94-85 setback to Atlanta. Kuester has said Stuckey will be back in the mix against Golden State, however.

The Warriors, who lost 104-95 at The Palace last year, have stumbled in 14 of their past 15 trips to Michigan since the '94-95 season.