The Warriors were shorthanded, but Andrew Wiggins and Jordan Poole stepped up to lead the Dubs to a 116-103 victory over the Grizzlies in the front end of a back-to-back in Memphis on Friday.
Playing without Stephen Curry (bruised tailbone), James Wiseman (health and safety protocols) and Eric Paschall (health and safety protocols), and matched up with a team that was just a game behind them in the standings, the Warriors started the game strong and kept up the pace well into the fourth quarter.
Poole started the game in place of Curry and made a strong impression of the two-time NBA MVP, making his first three shots of the game. Two of those came by way of the 3-pointer as four different Dubs made at least one trey as the team shot 6-for-12 from distance in the opening period.
TEAM LEADERS
Poole started hot and then Wiggins took over. He scored 12 points in the first quarter and then was in the middle of a game-changing 26-7 Warriors run over a six-minute stretch in the second quarter that gave the Dubs the lead for good. Wiggins had 15 points and two assists during that stretch, and the Warriors went into the break with a 19-point advantage.
Wiggins had 27 points by halftime, the highest scoring half of his career, and he’d finish the game with 40 points for his highest scoring game as a Warrior and the ninth 40-point game of his career. He shot 14-for-24 from the floor and was 6-for-11 on 3-pointers, finishing one shy of his career-high in splash.
Poole scored 17 of his 25 points in the first half and finished one point shy of his career-high, which he set just over two weeks ago in Phoenix. Damion Lee came off the bench for a season-high 21 points, hitting four of his eight 3-point attempts, and Kevon Looney matched his season-high with 11 points, including making a 3-pointer in the second straight game.
In the middle of it all for the Warriors was once again Draymond Green, who had just two points but still registered 13 assists and 11 rebounds and was a plus-24 in his time on the court.
Now winners of two in a row, the ninth-place Warriors have a two-game advantage over the 10th-place Grizzlies, and the two squads will match up again on Saturday in Memphis to complete the back-to-back.