SAN FRANCISCO – With 2:27 left in the first half Saturday night, as Jonathan Kuminga lay prone under the basket after an awkward fall after attempting to block a shot, Chase Center went silent with concern and Andrew Wiggins stood nearby watching helplessly.
An alarm began ringing in Wiggins’ ears.
A 1:02 remaining in the half, that alarm went full siren. Deafening.
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What began with the sight of Kuminga supine on the floor greatly intensified 85 seconds later when Memphis guard Desmond Bane slammed into Wiggins, sending him sprawling – and being whistled for a blocking foul as Bane’s shot went through the net with 1:02 left in the half.
weight rooooom 💪@DBane0625 | @FDSN_Grizzlies pic.twitter.com/M2fuVwP4tm
— Grind City Media (@grindcitymedia) January 5, 2025
Wiggins heard the alarm. The Warriors and Grizzlies spent the first half matching each other’s mediocrity, but nobody on the Golden State roster needed the wake-up call more.
Wiggins’ response was evident once he came out for the second half, and it was emphatic enough to send the Warriors on the path to a 121-113 victory and their first consecutive wins in six weeks.
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After snoozing through the first half with one field goal and neither a rebound nor an assist, Wiggins came after the Grizzlies as if they had offended his family, draining a floater 12 seconds into the third quarter. He followed that with a 3-pointer 64 seconds later, and another jumper two possessions later.
“That bump,” Wiggins said of the Bane play. “It woke me up.”
To the measure of eight points in the first two-and-a-half minutes of the second half, 10 more over the next seven-plus minutes, a total of 18 during his 10-minute stint in the quarter.
“Wiggs, in that third quarter, when JK was out – he was 1-of-6 at halftime – just took over that third when we really needed him the most,” coach Steve Kerr said.
Wiggins, who finished with a game-high 24 points, brought life to a Golden State offense that was desperate for it, particularly without Kuminga, who limped into the locker room immediately after rising, was diagnosed with a sprained right ankle. There was no immediate prognosis, but Kerr indicated he will miss some time.
“It’s not going to be day-to-day thing,” Kerr said. “It was a significant sprain.”
Kuminga’s absence, whether for a half on this night or many upcoming games, is a signal to Wiggins first and foremost. Kuminga is the team’s No. 2 scorer, behind Stephen Curry. Wiggins is No. 3, a half-point per game behind Kuminga.
For the Warriors to mount enough offense to win games – particularly with Curry fighting through persistent soreness in both knees and the possibility of Kuminga being sidelined – Wiggins to crank up his aggression.
Take flight, Wiggs‼️
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) January 5, 2025
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He can’t be the guy who had faded from offensive relevance in recent games, averaging 9.5 points on 16-of-43 shooting (37.2 percent) from the field, including 4-of-18 (22.2 percent) from distance.
As for the play involving Bane, Kerr also pointed to that as being at the root of Wiggins’ revival.
“The Desmond Bane play, when he ran through him at the end of the half,” Kerr said. “That made Wiggs mad. So, he came out ready to go in the third.”
With his driving dunk with 1:07 remaining, giving the Warriors a 119-109 lead, Wiggins was responsible for powering the Warriors to a level that was enough to put the Grizzlies to sleep for the night.
It was as if the sight of Kuminga limping off woke the guy who needed an awakening, in this game and beyond.