By Emmanuel Rivera, RRT PhilBoxing.com Tue, 14 Feb 2023
Andrew Wiggins soared once again, dropping 29 points, leading the Warriors past the tenacious Wizards Monday night, 135-126.
Said Warriors coach Steve Kerr on the hoops star dubbed “Air Canada”: “Definitely his best game since he's been back, he had a lot of good games early in the season but I loved his aggressiveness, he was attacking the rim all night and got it going from the mid-range and just got us a lot of key buckets when we were starting to fade a little bit.”
Not to be outshined, the entire Warriors squad responded in kind- Klay Thompson drilled 27 points from near and afar, Donte DiVincenzo finished with 17 points that featured five 3-pointers, in another strong effort.
Jordan Poole made 14 points with three 3-pointers matching Wiggins, while Ty Jerome scored 9, Kevon Looney 13, Jonathan Kuminga 7, and Moses Moody chipped in 1 solitary point.
All the SF Bay Area players tonight scored just like all the visiting cagers from Washington, D.C.
We can say the Warriors rained threes- something they usually do- outshooting the Wizards 60-36 beyond the outer arc.
Of note, J. Green went 4-for-4 from downtown and made all five of his field goals for 14 points.
At the post game presser, Ty Jerome gave props to J. Green, what with his recent health issues and coming back strong.
Said Ty on JaMychal: “I don't care how many years you've been in the league, I don't care how old you are, it's not easy…So, to be perfect from the field tonight, to be good on defense, he always brings a toughness factor for us every night. That's who he is as a shooter, so it's good to see them fall like that.”
In their final home game before the All-Star break, the Warriors went up one game above 0.500 but slid to #9 in the bunched up Western Conference; whereas, the Wizards dropped their record to 26-30 and slipped to #10 in the Eastern Conference.
The Warriors swept the season series after winning 127-118 in Washington, D.C. last month when they visited the White House on a courtesy call.
As a team, Golden State made 57-of-90 baskets (57.8% FG), sank 20-of-40 treys (50% 3-PT), had more assists (40 to 26), had an edge in steals (10 to 9), got a little too aggressive committing more fouls (19 to 15), had more fast break points (19 to 10), and swung the pendulum wildly and led by as much as 20 points.
By contrast, Washington looked sharp and converted 48-of-80 baskets (60% FG), sniped 12-of-28 treys (42.9% 3-PT), had more blocks (4 to 0), had the edge in the paint (56 to 54 points), and led by as much as 15 though in a valiant but losing effort.
The 7-foot-3-inch center Kristaps Porzingis was red-hot, hitting 12-of-16 enroute to 34 points, and 6-foot-3 guard Bradley Beal shot 13-of-23 for 33 points.
Washington went on a 14-3 run late in the first quarter to lead 39-29 after the first quarter, but Golden State retaliated with a 42-point second quarter that put the Warriors in front 71-66 at halftime, and did not relinquish their lead.
In what can be described as the play of the night, Klay posterized the long and strong Porzingis with a massive dunk at the 40.2-second mark of the second quarter to push Golden State ahead 69-66.
The re-acquired Gary Payton, Jr., a key player in the Warriors’ championship run last season, was re-introduced to an appreciative home crowd.
Upcoming:
Golden State Warriors (29-28): Visit Los Angeles Clippers (31-28) on Valentine’s Day Tuesday night, February 14, 2023 (let’s not forget), to complete their back-to-back at home before the All-Star break.
Washington Wizards (26-30): Visit the Portland Trail Blazers (28-29) on Valentine’s Day Tuesday (night), February 14, 2023 (let’s not forget), to finish a tough back-to-back on the road.
Note of Appreciation:
The photos, statistics and video link in this article are courtesy of the NBA and brought to you by PhilBoxing.com.
