What we learned as Wiggins fuels Warriors’ NBA Cup win over Pelicans

What we learned as Wiggins fuels Warriors’ NBA Cup win over Pelicans originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

CASH SCORE

The court was a dazzling blue, the New Orleans Pelicans were without several top players and the Warriors had to fight until the final seconds to emerge with a 112-108 victory Friday night at Smoothie King Center on the first night. of a back-to-back.

The Pelicans began the night as underdogs in 12 of their previous 14 games.

Andrew Wiggins‘ A season-high 30 points led the Warriors and led both teams. Stephen Curry scored 19 points, grabbed seven rebounds and distributed seven assists, while Draymon Green He also filled the stat sheet with 11 points, eight rebounds and five assists.

Golden State improved to 3-0 in NBA Cupand are now 56-7 all-time when Green makes three or more 3-pointers. The Warriors are also now 5-2 in decisive games this season, with both losses coming at the hands of the LA Clippers.

Here are three takeaways from the Warriors’ win against the Pelicans.

Wiggins is on fire

Wiggins scored 20 points in the season opener and then 29 in the Warriors’ third game, giving him two 20-point performances in the first three games of the year. Then they played seven games in a row without reaching 20 points.

Following his 30-point game Friday night in New Orleans, Wiggins has scored at least 20 points in three straight games, scoring 22 and 27 in the previous two.

His start in throwing the ball was literally perfect. In the first quarter, Wiggins scored 13 points in eight minutes on 5-of-5 shooting and 3-of-3 from 3-point range. He added another six points in the second quarter to reach 19 at halftime. Going into the fourth, Wiggins had 23 points and made 8 of 12 shots.

Wiggins played the final seven minutes of the fourth quarter and scored seven important points. It wasn’t just the fact that Wiggins hit three 3-pointers, but he also had his spin move working, was aggressive downhill and made all nine of his free throw attempts.

Where is the help?

The first half was a three-man show for the Warriors. While Curry, Wiggins and Green combined to score 40 points and were 9 of 13 on 3-pointers, the rest of the Warriors scored a total of 22 points and were 1 of 9 on 3-pointers.

Starting the fourth quarter without Curry, Wiggins or Green, the bench was able to hold on and achieved a plus-3 in the first five minutes. That’s a big win for the Warriors. But in general, the bank did not give the punch it usually gives.

Especially Jonathan Kuminga and Buddy Hield.

Hield never had good shots from long range like he often does. He hit a big 3-pointer during those minutes without Curry at the start of the fourth quarter, but overall he was 2-for-7 on 3-pointers. In his last three games, Hield is 7-for-22 (31.8 percent) from three.

However, Hield grabbed six rebounds and scored plus-9 in 19 minutes. Kuminga scored -1 in 20 minutes. Kuminga missed both of his 3-pointers, and one of them was with 17 seconds left on the shot clock. He made two layups and a dunk, but missed everything that was more than a few feet from the basket.

cold waters

Hield wasn’t the only sniper who went cold in New Orleans. Lindy Waters hit a three-pointer and didn’t score a single point while starting alongside Curry in the Warriors’ backcourt. He played 15 minutes, the fewest of any starter, and did not score on 0-for-3 shots, all three-pointers.

Waters has proven that he is more than just a shooter. He had two assists on Friday night, plays strong defense and his cutting opens up a lot of things. As nice as general manager Mike Dunleavy’s discovery of Waters was, the Warriors have a glaring void.

De’Anthony Melton was a perfect fit next to Curry. Waters is a solid piece who has proven that he is an NBA player. Wednesday night’s win against the Atlanta Hawks was also the first time he scored in double figures as a starter.

In five starts this season, Waters now has a total of 27 points, averaging 5.4 points and making 35 percent (7 of 20) of his three-pointers. Of course, five games is a small sample size. The rawness of Waters’ NBA experience has also been evident lately.

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