Wiggins stepping up to help Steph as one-two Warriors punch

Wiggins stepping up to help Steph as one-two Warriors punch originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Stephen Curry lost his coveted and beloved Splash Brother when Klay Thompson jumped ship and joined the Dallas Mavericks, robbing the Warriors of one of their top scorers and best defenders.

Andrew Wiggins is doing his best to fill that void.

Playing at a level that is very reminiscent of his NBA All-Star season three years ago when the Warriors won their fourth NBA championship in eight years, Wiggins has played a very significant role in Golden State’s impressive start – the Warriors improved to 12-3 after their 112-108 win over the Pelicans in New Orleans on Friday.

The former No. 1 overall draft pick was in prime form against the Pelicans. He scored a season-high 30 points to go with three rebounds, four assists, a block and a steal. Part of that included Wiggins going 9 of 9 from the free-throw line, an area where the Warriors have had serious issues this season.

It was the eighth 30-point game of Wiggins’ tenure with Golden State and the 48th of his NBA career.

“Andrew is feeling great,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “You saw him knock down all the threes early, his free throws. He looked fantastic out there, his defense on [Brandon] Ingram. A lot of good stuff.”

Wiggins’ performance in New Orleans might have raised a few eyebrows around the NBA, but Warriors fans have been seeing a lot of this from the 29-year-old as the season plays out.

Wiggins has scored 20 points or more in each of his last three games, something he hadn’t done since November 2022 when he did it in four consecutive games.

In his most recent stretch, Wiggins is shooting at a 65.1-percent clip (28 of 43) and almost as good (8 of 15, 53.3 percent) from 3-point range.

The Warriors have needed all of it, too.

Curry got off to somewhat of a slow start against the Pelicans, but Wiggins came out firing and helped the Warriors take early control of a game that went back and forth all night.

Wiggins made all five shots he took in the first quarter, including a trio of threes, and scored 13 of his 30 points in the opening 12 minutes….

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/wiggins-stepping-help-steph-one-044912473.html

Author : NBC Sports BayArea

Publish date : 2024-11-23 04:49:00

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