The Golden State Warriors may have held a 58-54 lead over the Memphis Grizzlies at half-time on Saturday night, but the hosts looked in trouble as they prepared for a second-half without their two leading scorers.
Stephen Curry was already resting on the first night of a back-to-back, while Jonathan Kuminga suffered a significant ankle sprain during an awkward fall late in the second-quarter. Already in the midst of the best stretch of his career, Kuminga had 13 first-half points with his departure signalling a major question mark on how the Warriors would find offense over the remainder of the game.
Desmond Bane fatally made Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins mad at the end of the first-half
Andrew Wiggins quickly answered the call, putting a quiet two-point first-half behind him with an emphatic 18-point third period that help Golden State extend their lead from four to six points entering the fourth.
The 2022 All-Star finished with 22 points in the second-half and a game-high 24 points overall, including an exclamation dunk in the final 70 seconds that put the finishing touches on a 121-113 Warrior victory.
But it wasn't his two-point first-half or the need to step up without Curry and Kuminga that were the key motivating factors, with Steve Kerr admitting in his post-game press conference that Wiggins got mad because of a late second-quarter play involving Desmond Bane.
The Grizzlies star went the full length of the floor, ran over Wiggins and completed an and-1 that brought his team to within a point. The Canadian was left to pick himself up from the floor as Ja Morant flexed from the sidelines.
weight rooooom 💪@DBane0625 | @FDSN_Grizzlies pic.twitter.com/M2fuVwP4tm
— Grind City Media (@grindcitymedia) January 5, 2025
"The Desmond Bane play when he ran through him at the end of the half. That made Wiggs mad so he came out ready to go in the third," Kerr said.
Wiggins also admitted that the Bane play and subsequent reaction woke him up, leading to a second-half explosion that delivered Golden State back-to-back wins for the first time since November. The 29-year-old added three assists, four steals and was a +10 in the eight point win, while he helped force Bane into eight turnovers as he took on more ball-handling duties in Morant's absence.
It's surprising to see Wiggins so emotionally influenced by one particularly play, with the veteran forward often a mild-mannered player that goes about his work with a minimum of fuss. If Wiggins is going to channel that energy into performances like we saw over the final 24 minutes on Saturday, then perhaps Warrior fans we'll be hoping he gets mad a little more often moving forward.