Jonathan Kuminga was a late scratch due to knee tendinitis. Draymond Green was ejected less than four minutes after tipoff for extended arguing with official Ray Acosta. The Orlando Magic were playing on three days of rest, while the Golden State Warriors faced the second leg of a tough back-to-back on the road. None of that mattered in the end, though, as Andrew Wiggins led the shorthanded yet invigorated Dubs to an absolutely massive 101-93 victory over the Magic on Wednesday night.
Wiggins scored a team-high 23 points on 8-of-17 shooting, draining half of his six three-point attempts while adding six rebounds and two blocks. Those impressive numbers don't come close to doing the on-court gravity of his performance justice. Not only did Wiggins drop 13 of his points in the fourth quarter to help stave off Orlando's hopes of a slow-building comeback, but he also played a pivotal role—especially with Green watching from the Kia Center locker room—in forcing Magic stars Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner into 29 total points on 31 field goal attempts.
The 10th-year veteran has been solid since finally beginning to shake off dire early-season struggles in mid-January. On Wednesday, though, Wiggins reverted back to the two-way force of unyielding aggression and confidence who outplayed Boston Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum as Golden State won the 2022 NBA Finals.
“Wiggs was fantastic. Just stepped up and made one big play after another at both ends,” Steve Kerr said on the postgame podium. “Had the big block near the end on Wagner, made big shots, got to the line, attacked. Yeah, Wiggs was fantastic.”
Andrew Wiggins, suffocating defense sparks victory for ‘desperate' Dubs
Wiggins dominated when it mattered most, but played like the Warriors were fighting for their postseason lives from the opening tip in Orlando.
He soared through an open lane for a thunderous two-handed dunk. He pinned a would-be Wagner layup against the glass in transition. He fought like hell on the glass, routinely throwing his weight around against the Magic's ultra-physical front line. He drained a pull-up triple in inverted ball-screen action when Jonathan Isaac went under Stephen Curry's pick, spun past Cole Anthony for a slick, lefty and-1 from the same look, then blocked Wagner in the lane once again to seal Golden State's win.
This Wiggins, leveraging his athletic tools to their fullest as a primary scorer, is the player of two years ago.
Wiggins was hardly the only Dubs role player who stepped up with Kuminga out and Green letting his emotions get the best of him. Curry's game-long struggles—until he put the Magic away for good with five straight points late, at least—only made the dogged contributions of his less-heralded teammates all the more significant.
Gary Payton II changed the game upon initially entering midway through the second quarter, wresting momentum back from Orlando with a pair of highlight-reel steals and three finishes at the rim. Moses Moody gave the Dubs major life, playing with palpable force—most notably on the offensive boards—en route to 12 points, five rebounds and three assists. But it Brandin Podziemski and Trayce Jackson-Davis led Golden State's onslaught on the offensive glass, combining to grab nine of their team's misses. Even Gui Santos impressed in limited action.
The win moves the Warriors to 38-34, keeping them within one-and-a-half game striking distance of the Los Angeles Lakers in ninth-place out West. But far more important than surpassing the Lakers is Golden State fending off the Houston Rockets, a reality Wiggins and his teammates clearly understood while facing long odds in Orlando.
“Just trying to stay aggressive, trying to do whatever I can to get over that hump and get this win,” Wiggins said of his big night. “We're desperate and we need every win we can get.”
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