Andrew Wiggins perfectly plays Steph Curry’s sidekick in Warriors’ win – NBC Sports Bay Area & California

On By Littum

Steph Curry addressed Minnesota Timberwolves fans sitting courtside before the ball was even halfway in the air. When he turned to look back at the ball, it had just landed home and whizzed through the net to give the Warriors a three-point lead with 47 seconds left. The celebration was on.

Curry had won his superstar match against Anthony Edwards, outscoring his Team USA teammate, who is more than 13 years his junior, 31-28. The final few possessions showed why Andrew Wiggins was the perfect matchup for Curry in the Warriors’ 116-115 win over the Timberwolves on Wednesday night at Target Center.

With the Warriors leading by one point, 111-110, Wiggins went to screen Jaden McDaniels on an out-of-bounds play to free Curry on their next offensive possession. McDaniels is 6-foot-9 and doesn’t have a passive bone in his body when he plays defense. McDaniels tried to play through Wiggins, but he held his ground and McDaniels was whistled for a foul that sent Wiggins to the free throw line.

There, Wiggins made his ninth and 10th free throws of the night to give the Warriors a three-point lead. Then he immediately grabbed a big rebound from a missed 3-point attempt by Edwards while being hacked by several wolves. However, his biggest rebound of the game came nine seconds later.

Gary Payton II could have given Golden State a three-point advantage in the final 10 seconds. But when his free throw hit the front of the rim, the back of the rim and the left side of the rim before bouncing out and off several hands, Wiggins dove in from beyond the arc, secured the rebound, dribbled down the clock and found Curry, who made two free throws to seal the deal.

“I thought Wiggs was huge,” Steve Kerr told reporters after the win. “When Steph was out, he really took over the offense. Got to the foul line, kept our lead in the third quarter.”

The Warriors did not have Wiggins (personal reason) for the first two games of their four-game road trip, where they won one and lost one. Wiggins then faced the Warriors in Toronto, where he had an efficient 20 points on 6 of 13 from the field and 4 of 9 on threes in an incredibly disappointing loss. On Wednesday he was even better.

Wiggins scored 24 points, and 18 came in the second half. Although the box score says he had five rebounds, it felt closer to 10. His shooting night, 6 of 16 overall and 2 of 8 from deep, wasn’t as great as the previous game. What he gave the Warriors when Curry was on the bench, and how, was much more important.

When Wiggins replaced Curry at the 3:22 mark of the third quarter, the Warriors had a nine-point lead. Wiggins didn’t have his 3-point shot falling, so he took advantage of Tony Brothers and the officiating staff having an affinity for the whistle, getting downhill and finding points by any means necessary.

First, he took Mike Conley to the paint and was fouled on a shot attempt. The Timberwolves challenged the call. They lost, and Wiggins hit both free throws. The next time down the court, Wiggins beat Naz Reid off the dribble to attack the basket and was fouled by Julius Randle during his left-handed layup attempt. Two more free throws and two more free points. Wiggins then stripped Edwards on one side and beat him off the dribble for a left-handed finger-roll layup on the other side.

On a fourth consecutive offensive possession, Wiggins again beat the Timberwolves off the dribble and was fouled by Nickeil Alexander-Walker, but missed both free throws.

Later in the fourth quarter, when Curry took a break for about three minutes in the middle part of the frame, Wiggins drained his second and final 3-pointer that extended the Warriors’ lead to six points.

“I just go out there and I jump,” Wiggins said. “I tried to stay aggressive and whatever the team needs me to do to win, I just try to do it.”

The lack of athleticism and downhill power in Jonathan Kuminga’s absence through injury has been glaring. Wiggins has turned more and more into a 3-and-D type of player. His offense hovers around the 3-point line much more than the paint. It wasn’t what his game called for in Minnesota, or even how the game was refereed.

Wiggins is now 14 of 18 at the free throw line the last two games, and 4 of 8 inside the paint, with three of those marks coming in Wednesday’s win.

The curtain call belonged to the game’s greatest showman, Steph Curry. His sidekick’s dirty work made all the difference.

Download and follow the Dubs Talk Podcast