What we learned as Steph, Wiggs fuel Warriors’ bounce-back win

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What we learned as Steph, Wiggs fuel Warriors’ bounce-back win originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

BOX SCORE

Another night, another “clutch game” for the Warriors – and this one went their way.

Golden State led most of the way and never trailed Wednesday night, managing to stave off a late Minnesota Timberwolves rally to dance out of Target Center with a 116-115 victory that closed a 2-2 road trip and put their record back to .500 (20-20).

Five Warriors scored in double figures, led by Stephen Curry’s 31 points, including a pair of free throws with 6.1 seconds remaining to clinch the win. Andrew Wiggins put in 24 points, 18 in the second half. Buddy Hield scored 18 off the bench, Dennis Schröder added 12 and Moses Moody 11.

Golden State shot 50 percent from beyond the arc and limited its painful turnovers while outrebounding the bigger Timberwolves 45-41. Trayce Jackson-Davis grabbed 15 – including a career-high eight on the offensive end.

Here are three observations from a conclusion that allowed the Warriors to enjoy their flight back to the Bay Area:

Fourth-Quarter Grit Was Enough

The Warriors took a nine-point lead (87-78) into the fourth quarter, which has been their danger zone all season. They pushed it 11 (92-81) with 10:53 left to play.

Could they hold on?

Golden State’s advantage was trimmed to six with 9:28 remaining, and then to three with 8:50 remaining when Jaden McDaniels drained a triple after an offensive rebound. The teams mostly took turns scoring until the Timberwolves tied it at 108-108 on two free throws by Naz Redd with 1:07 remaining.

Curry replied with a 3-ball with 47 seconds left, putting the Warriors up three and forcing a Timberwolves timeout.

Wiggins was terrific in the final minute, draining two free throws with 32.2 seconds left and snagging two rebounds inside the final 18.1 seconds – the last of which led directly to Curry’s clinching free throws.

The Warriors were outscored 37-29 in the final quarter but behind Curry (eight points), Hield (eight) and Wiggins (seven) were able to post their 12th win in 25 clutch games.

Instant Bolt Of Lightning

One of the problems…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/learned-steph-wiggs-fuel-warriors-214308046.html

Author : NBC Sports BayArea

Publish date : 2025-01-15 21:43:00

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