On a day where they announced that De'Anthony Melton would require season-ending knee surgery, the Golden State Warriors delivered some positives with a dominant 120-97 victory over the Atlanta Hawks at Chase Center on Thursday night.
The Warriors were rather comfortable from mid-way through the first-quarter, pouring in 41 points in the opening 12 minutes to take a 19-point lead that was never relinquished. Golden State's defense strangled the visitors in the first-half, keeping them to 42 points as part of a 25-point lead.
Andrew Wiggins continued his strong early form in the Warriors' 23-point win
The lead quickly ballooned out beyond 30 in the third-quarter, before the Hawks made a run that briefly had the hosts nervous of another meltdown from up big. Atlanta cut the margin to 15 entering the fourth, yet they got no closer than 13 as the Warriors made it comfortable down the stretch.
Andrew Wiggins was the star of the show from a Golden State perspective, continuing his revival from last year's disappointing season with an efficient 27 points on 12-of-17 shooting from the floor and 3-of-6 from 3-point range, while also adding seven rebounds, four assists and two blocks in 30 minutes of action.
22 makes it look easy
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) November 21, 2024
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Stephen Curry's battle with Dyson Daniels was always set to be fascinating, and while the Australian guard harrassed and denied too many shot attempts, the 2x MVP was still incredibly efficient with 23 points, 4 rebounds and eight assists on 7-of-10 shooting and 4-of-6 from beyond the arc.
Seven Golden State players had at least nine points, including Trayce Jackson-Davis who had a 14-point, 11-rebound and four-assist double-double in 22 minutes. Draymond Green had nine points, seven rebounds, nine assists and two blocks, helping to keep Atlanta to a paltry 33.3% shooting and 26.1% from 3-point range.
Wiggins and company helped contain Trae Young to just 12 points on 12 shots and 1-of-6 from beyond the arc, with no Hawks player scoring more than 15 points as the Warrior defense again came to the fore.
There is another slight injury concern for Golden State in the wake of Melton's injury, with Brandin Podziemski leaving the game early in the fourth-quarter after taking a blow to the face. Steve Kerr confirmed post-game that x-rays are negative, providing some positive news after the second-year guard previously broke his nose during the preseason.
The Warriors move to 11-3 on the season and remain atop the Western Conference, with a back-to-back to come against the New Orleans Pelicans and San Antonio Spurs on Friday and Saturday.