No splashes? No problem. The Warriors struggled to find their range from distance for the first 45 minutes of Tuesday’s game, but they got hot when it mattered most. Andrew Wiggins, Juan Toscano-Anderson and Jordan Poole connected for three consecutive 3-pointers in the final three minutes to set the team up to defeat the Phoenix Suns 122-116.
The Warriors were down by three with 3:04 left in the game as the squad set up an inbound play off a timeout. The ball came to Draymond Green at the wing, who then slung a cross-court pass to an open Wiggins at the other wing. Splash.
Phoenix would immediately retaliate though their All-Star backcourt, as Devin Booker found Chris Paul in the corner for his own 3-pointer.
And yet on the Warriors next possession, they would find another Dub open for a 3-point attempt. This time, Green faked a hand-off to Stephen Curry at the top of the key and went barreling into the paint. Toscano-Anderson became wide open as his defender came from the corner to help on Green, and that’s where opportunity knocked. Green dished to Toscano-Anderson, who then hoisted up the shot. Splash and a tie ballgame once again.
The next scoring play was on the Dubs as well. Curry found himself coming into a double team near the center court logo, but with a quick spin he whipped the ball around one of his Suns defenders to an open Poole at the hash mark. Splash, Warriors take the lead.
Curry then added some insurance for the Dubs on the ensuing Phoenix possession when he picked the pocket of a driving Booker. After brining the ball up, Curry passed the ball off to Wiggins, who drove in on the Suns’ center Deandre Ayton. Despite the size advantage for Ayton, Wiggins drove into his defender’s body, spun off to the left, and hit a fadeaway jumper by the rim to add to the Warriors’ lead.
The Warriors held their ground for the final 1:21 of the game and did not let the Suns come within more than four points in that span.
TEAM LEADERS
With Tuesday’s win, the Warriors beat two top teams in NBA on consecutive nights in the Utah Jazz and Phoenix Suns, both of who are competing for the top spot in the Western Conference. Additionally, the Dubs stay in the No. 8 spot in the West and ahead of the Memphis Grizzlies, who defeated the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday.
Despite going 1-for-11 on his own 3-point attempts, Curry’s presence and involvement in the aforementioned plays were still critical in the Warriors scratching out the win. On top of that, he posted a 13-point third quarter prior to that, too. Even without his signature 3-point shooting, Curry finished with 21 points in the game, going 6-for-11 on shots inside of the arc while being a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line.
Wiggins’ 38 points is his second highest of the season (40, Mar. 19 vs Memphis) and came on a 17-for-24 night from the field. Five of his seven rebounds came off the offensive glass and he added three assists in a productive game for the guard/forward.
Kent Bazemore also contributed 17 points in the game. He notched 14 in the first half alone, and was the only Warrior to hit at least one three through the first two quarters (2-for-4).
Poole continued his hot shooting off the bench for the Dubs, too. His 20 points in the contest included a 5-for-5 night at the free throw line, with two clutch shots in the final seconds to seal the game. He now has four straight matches with double digits scored off the bench each contest, averaging 17.5 points over that span.
The Warriors get some time off after sweeping their final back-to-back of the 2020-21 campaign. Their next game is not until Friday when the squad hosts the New Orleans Pelicans (6:30 p.m., NBCSBA, ESPN).