The Golden State Warriors were in dire need of a win against the New Orleans Pelicans on Monday night in order to keep their playoff hopes alive heading into the tail-end of the regular season. Despite having huge performances from both Stephen Curry and Draymond Green, the Warriors still needed every bit of the production contributed by Andrew Wiggins to successfully secure the much-needed victory.

Via Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle:

“He felt the moment,” Curry said. “In those first three or four minutes of the fourth, it could have gone either way. We could seal the deal and keep our cushion, or they could have made it a game. He had something to say about it.”

With a strong start, Golden State successfully built a comfortable lead against New Orleans in the first three quarters of the game. However, their opponents kept fighting back as they managed to trim the deficit down to six in the third quarter.

Green then instructed Wiggins to take control of the game as he and Curry both headed to the bench to rest at the start of the fourth quarter. The former No. 1 overall pick heeded the call as he scored 10 straight points for the Dubs to start their run in the final frame.

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“Be aggressive, attack, and just dominate,” said Wiggins in recounting his fourth-quarter mind-set. “Draymond told me to take over the fourth, so that’s what I did. I was in attack mode the whole time.”

In the end, the production of the three players was enough to lift the Warriors to a 123-108 victory over the Pelicans. Curry led his team with 41 points and eight assists while Green had another triple-double with 10 points, 13 rebounds, and 15 assists. Wiggins finished with 26 points and four rebounds as he played a team-high 38 minutes on the floor.

Monday night's win was crucial for the Dubs as they improved to a 33-32 record for the eighth spot in the Western Conference. They are now a half-game ahead of the Memphis Grizzlies who are closely trailing behind with a 32-32 record.

Andrew Wiggins may often be overshadowed by both Stephen Curry and Draymond Green but it can't be denied that he is indeed playing a vital role for the Warriors this season. His performance against the Pelicans proved that the team will need his contributions if they want to secure a playoff spot and advance to the postseason.