What we learned as Wiggins fuels Warriors’ bounce-back win

What we learned as Wiggins fuels Warriors’ bounce-back win originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

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SAN FRANCISCO – Stephen Curry had 23 points and eight assists as the Warriors won their fifth consecutive home game, toppling the Atlanta Hawks 120-97 at Chase Center on Wednesday.

Andrew Wiggins scored 27 points to go with seven rebounds as Golden State bounced back from a heartbreaking loss to the Los Angeles Clippers two days earlier. Trayce Jackson-Davis added 14 points and 11 rebounds, while Draymond Green had another gumbo night of everything (nine points, seven rebounds, nine assists, 1 steal, two blocks) for coach Steve Kerr’s squad.

The Western Conference-leading Warriors improved to 11-3 and will face three beatable teams in the coming days. After road games against the New Orleans Pelicans and San Antonio Spurs, Golden State returns home to play the Brooklyn Nets on Monday before taking on conference contenders Oklahoma City Thunder, Phoenix Suns, Denver Nuggets and Houston Rockets followed by back-to-back games against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Chase Center.

At one point, that seemed like it might be a daunting stretch for the Warriors. Now it’s looking like just another opportunity for Golden State to add on to what already is a promising season.

Golden State certainly appeared in peak form against Atlanta despite learning earlier in the day that guard De’Anthony Melton will undergo season-ending knee surgery.

Even without Melton, the Warriors had it pretty easy against the Hawks.

Golden State led by 31, had one of its best shooting nights of the season (47 of 100) and dished out 36 assists.

About the only thing that went wrong was when second-year guard Brandin Podziemski – who wore a protective mask earlier in the season after suffering a broken nose – got hit in the face early in the fourth quarter and stayed down for several moments before walking off the court slowly. Kerr said after the game X-rays on the injury were negative.

The Warriors got off to a fast start, dropping a season-high 41 points on the Hawks in the first quarter. Buddy Hield had eight points during the opening flurry, but it was Curry, of course, who provided the signature moment when he made a basket while tumbling to the floor and got fouled then completed the three-point play.

Golden State took a 67-42 advantage into halftime and maintained the 15-point lead heading into the fourth quarter before coasting to the win.

Here are the takeaways from Wednesday’s game:

Waters Gets First Crack At Splashing

Having liked what he has seen from Lindy Waters III in previous weeks, Kerr gave the fourth-year pro the first shot at replacing Melton in the starting lineup. Waters, who has been solid both coming off the bench and in a starting role during the 2024 season, scored 10 points and was plus-16 in 23 minutes

Waters scored the Warriors’ first points of the night on a sweet baseline floater, then spent most of his first shift defending Hawks point guard Trae Young. Young took just one shot in the first quarter on his way to a 4 of 12 shooting night.

All of that should be enough to keep Waters in the lineup, although Kerr said before the game that Podziemski also could factor into the equation.

Melton finally was finding his rhythm with Golden State on both ends when he got hurt, so his absence will be a tough one to overcome no matter who Kerr turns to.

Bounce-back Night For Bench

The Warriors possess the best set of reserves in the NBA and, after an off night facing the Clippers two night earlier, Golden State’s bench posse was back on point in the win over the Hawks.

Paced by the combo of Wiggins and Jonathan Kuminga, the Warriors’ bench outscored the Hawks’ 37-36. The way Golden State’s starters were scoring, the bench wasn’t as big a factor as it had been, but it still was encouraging to see them doing what they do best.

At this rate, it’s very possible the Warriors will challenge for the title of best bench of all-time. The 2018-19 Los Angeles Clippers hold the NBA record for highest bench average at 53.2 points per game. Golden State went into Wednesday’s game with an NBA-leading average of 56.4 points.

Doing It With Defense

As much as the Warriors have been known for their offensive fireworks, they’re turning out to be a very good team defensively – a point that was driven home emphatically against the Hawks.

Atlanta was held 19 points below its season average of 116, shot just 35 of 105 from the field (12 of 46 3-pointers) and committed 17 turnovers that led to 22 points for Golden State.

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