Game Report: Wiggins has a night out against his former team

He may have dismissed the idea of it being a revenge game, but there sure was a heightened level of aggression and emotion from Andrew Wiggins against his former team on Wednesday night. His 35 points, punctuated by two massive poster dunks on former teammate Karl-Anthony Towns, was enough to steer the Golden State Warriors to a 123-110 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Andrew Wiggins was scorching hot against his former team as the Golden State Warriors notched their 10th win of the season.

Wiggins was on from the get-go, scoring 22 points on 9-9 shooting in the first half. After a back and forth first quarter, the Dubs provided plenty of entertainment in the second, highlighted by two explosive dunks from Gary Payton II. With a 15 point lead at the half, it seemed as if they were on their way to another comfortable victory.

The lead extended even further in the third before the Wolves found some life on the back of young star Anthony Edwards. After matching Wiggins’ effort with 23 points of his own in the first half, the number one overall pick from last year added another 12 in the third. Aided by a series of triples from former Warrior D’Angelo Russell, and a Draymond Green thigh injury that saw him leave the game, the Wolves got within four with a minute remaining in the quarter.

The Warrior lead remained at just five with under five minutes to play before their veteran experience allowed them to steady and prevent any such repeat of their loss to the Grizzlies. A Wiggins’ three in the face of Towns sealed the victory with two and a half minutes to play, with the second of his poster dunks putting the icing on a special night for him in another Warriors’ win.

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1. Wiggins’ big night

The former number one pick made his first ten shots and finished 14-19 including 3-6 from downtown. His 35 points is his third-best outing in a Warrior uniform, following 40 and 38 point efforts last season. It’s also just the second time he’s scored over 20 points through 11 games this season.

He was also 3/3 from the free throw line in what continues to be a positive sign for him and Warriors fans. He’s now shooting 82.9% from the line this season, over 10% better than what he produced last season.

2. Looney’s career-high

If Wiggins was the star of the show, Kevon Looney was the unheralded hero. With many questioning his value once James Wiseman returns, the big man displayed why he can still play crucial roles.

In being the primary matchup for Towns, Looney played nearly 30 minutes, a stark contrast to his season average of 16.7 minutes. Some of that had to do with Green’s omission from the game over the final quarter and a half, but it doesn’t take away from the fact he guarded Towns quite well, keeping him to 17 points on just 6-19 shooting. On top of this, he also recorded his second career double-double and posted a career-high in rebounds with 17.

The Warriors have classified Green’s injury as a thigh contusion, with Steve Kerr labeling him as questionable ahead of their final game of the homestand against the Chicago Bulls on Friday.