Wiggins calmly rescues Warriors after Draymond’s ejection

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Wiggins calmly rescues Warriors after Draymond’s ejection originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

The look on Stephen Curry’s face in the opening minutes Wednesday in Orlando was that of a man who had seen too much of something he did not care to see.

Not this again.

Yes. This. Again. Draymond Green getting ejected, darkening hope for the Warriors, who would be forced the play the remaining 44 minutes and change without him.

Yet they responded beautifully – nobody more than Andrew Wiggins.

Though the Warriors were tied with the Magic when Green was bounced out, it was Wiggins’ late show that pushed them in front long enough to close out a 101-93 victory that surely ranks among their grittiest of this uneven 2023-24 NBA season.

The rousing win allowed Golden State to complete a road sweep of the Florida teams for the first time since 2016.

“It was a gutsy effort in tough circumstances, back-to-back, losing Draymond early” coach Steve Kerr told reporters at Kia Arena. “And the guys just competed for 48 (minutes). Obviously, we need every game we could get right now so that’s why everybody was pretty emotional.”

Everyone, that is, except Wiggins. With Orlando attempting the kind of late comeback the Warriors are painfully accustomed to experiencing, the perpetually enigmatic forward coolly staged a fourth-quarter takeover.

“He won us the game tonight – plain and simple,” Curry said. “I’m just proud of the way he took that challenge on, that he was assertive and aggressive. Whether he makes or misses shots, I could (not) care less. It’s just the ability for him to just be aggressive and take the shots that he knows he can take, put the pressure on the room, he’s knocking down 3s. Like everything. He had the whole bag working tonight.”

Wiggins scored Golden State’s first eight points of the fourth quarter and stayed on the floor for all 12 minutes, producing 13 points and three rebounds before punctuating the evening with a block inside the final minute. He finished with a team-high 23 points, adding six rebounds and two blocks while posting a plus-12 over 35 minutes.

“Just trying to stay…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/wiggins-calmly-rescues-warriors-draymonds-043941901.html

Author : NBC Sports BayArea

Publish date : 2024-03-28 04:39:41

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