What we learned as Wiggins fuels Warriors’ bounce-back win

What we learned as Wiggins fuels Warriors’ comeback win originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

CASH SCORE

SAN FRANCISCO – Stephen Curry scored 23 points and eight assists as the Warriors won their fifth straight home game, defeating the Atlanta Hawks 120-97 at Chase Center on Wednesday.

Andrew Wiggins had 27 points and seven rebounds as Golden State recovered from a heartbreaking loss to the Los Angeles Clippers two days before. Trayce Jackson-Davis added 14 points and 11 rebounds, while Draymond Green had another night of everything (nine points, seven rebounds, nine assists, 1 steal, two blocks) for coach Steve Kerr’s team.

The Western Conference-leading Warriors improved to 11-3 and will face three beatable teams in the coming days. After road games against the New Orleans Pelicans and San Antonio Spurs, Golden State returns home to play the Brooklyn Nets on Monday before taking on conference contenders Oklahoma City Thunder, Phoenix Suns, Denver Nuggets and Houston Rockets, followed by back-to-back games against the New Orleans Pelicans and San Antonio Spurs. the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Chase Center.

At one point, it looked like it could be a daunting stretch for the Warriors. Now it looks like just another opportunity for Golden State to add to what is already a promising season.

Golden State certainly appeared in top form against Atlanta despite learning earlier in the day that guard De’Anthony Melton undergo season-ending knee surgery.

Even without Melton, the Warriors had it pretty easy against the Hawks.

Golden State led by 31, had one of its best shooting nights of the season (47 of 100) and dished out 36 assists.

The only thing that went wrong was when sophomore guard Brandin Podziemski, who wore a protective mask earlier in the season after suffering a broken nose, was hit in the face early in the fourth quarter and remained on the ground. for several moments before leaving. I cut her slowly. Kerr said after the game that X-rays of the injury were negative.

The Warriors got off to a fast start, dropping a season-high 41 points on the Hawks in the first quarter. Buddy Hield scored eight points during the opening burst, but it was Curry, of course, who provided the signature moment when he made a basket while falling to the ground and was fouled and then completed the three-point play.

Golden State took a 67-42 lead into halftime and held the 15-point lead into the fourth quarter before pulling out the win.

Here are the takeaways from Wednesday’s game:

Waters gets first chance to splash

Having liked what he saw from Lindy Waters III in previous weeks, Kerr gave the fourth-year pro the first opportunity to replace Melton in the starting lineup. Waters, who has been solid both off the bench and as a starter during the 2024 season, scored 10 points and was +16 in 23 minutes.

Waters scored the Warriors’ first points of the night with a sweet floater from the baseline, then spent most of his first shift defending. Hawks guard Trae Young. Young made just one shot in the first quarter en route to a 4-of-12 shooting night.

All of that should be enough to keep Waters in the lineup, although Kerr said before the game that Podziemski could also factor into the equation.

Melton was finally finding his groove with Golden State on both ends when he got hurt, so his absence will be hard to overcome no matter who Kerr turns to.

Recovery night for the bank

The Warriors have the best set of reserves in the NBA and, after a poor night against the Clippers two nights earlier, Golden State’s bench group was back on point in the win over the Hawks.

Powered by the combination of Wiggins and Jonathan Kuminga, the Warriors bench outscored the Hawks 37-36. The way Golden State’s starters were scoring, the bench wasn’t as much of a factor as it had been, but it was still encouraging to see them do what they do best.

At this rate, it’s very possible that the Warriors will fight for the title of best bench of all time. The 2018-19 Los Angeles Clippers hold the NBA record for highest bench average at 53.2 points per game. Golden State entered Wednesday’s game averaging an NBA-leading 56.4 points.

Do it with defense

As much as the Warriors are known for their offensive fireworks, they are turning out to be a very good team defensively, a point that was emphasized emphatically against the Hawks.

Atlanta remained 19 points below its season average of 116, shot just 35 of 105 from the field (12 of 46 3-pointers) and committed 17 turnovers that led to 22 points for Golden State.

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