Getty Andrew Wiggins of the Golden State Warriors and De'Aaron Fox of the Sacramento Kings.
After dropping the first two games of their first-round series against the Sacramento Kings, the Golden State Warriors took care of business at home. They earned victories in Games 3 and 4 and will now head back to Sacramento in hopes of taking a series lead.
Their victory in Game 4 was hard-fought, as it all came down to the wire. And while Stephen Curry’s and Klay Thompson’s offense jumps off the page, Andrew Wiggins’ defense was just as important. At least, that’s according to Curry, who praised Wiggins’ play against Kings star De’Aaron Fox.
“Playoff Wiggs. Two-way Wiggs. All the different nicknames that he’s established since he’s been here,” Curry said. “Huge part of our success with the way that he can influence games, not just scoring the basketball. So, it’s easy to forget this is only his fourth game back since February. He’s starting to find his legs and find his confidence. His endurance to play 38 minutes and chase D-Fox around all game. You love to see it.”
Wiggins spent more time guarding Fox than anyone else on the Warriors, covering the All-Star point guard for 6:47 of game time. In that time, Fox shot 5-of-11 from the field and 2-of-5 from deep, but Wiggins also recorded two blocks.
As for Wiggins’ overall performance, he finished the game with some solid statistical numbers. He dropped 18 points, eight rebounds, three assists, one steal, and four blocks. Wiggins shot 7-of-12 from the field and 1-of-3 from behind the three-point line.
Warriors’ Kevon Looney Praises Andrew Wiggins
Curry isn’t the only Warrior to have given Wiggins some major praise since his return from injury. When asked about how Wiggins has come back in such great shape since his return, Golden State big man Kevon Looney had nothing but kind things to say about his teammate.
“No, Wiggs is a super-athlete, super-human type of dude,” Looney said laughing via NBC Sports Bay Area. “He’s the type of guy who doesn’t really miss games. A guy who can just roll out of bed and can probably do an East Bay or 360 windmill. So it didn’t shock me that [he was in shape]. He really takes care of his body, he watches what he eats, he does all the small things so it didn’t surprise me when he came back and was already in tip-top shape and he’s ready to step right in and play high-level basketball.”
Warriors’ Draymond Green Discusses End of Game 4
In the final moments of Game 4, Fox had the ball, but when he was stopped, he dished it to Harrison Barnes, who missed what would have been the game-winner. During the following edition of his podcast, “The Draymond Green Show,” Draymond Green broke down the final play of the game.
“We know what Fox does in that situation,” Green said. “Most importantly, you can’t let him beat you there, which was my mindset. He got the ball, he was looking to make his move, [I] tried to get the ball out of his hands because you don’t just win Clutch Player of the Year being average. You’ve been in enough of those situations to show what you do in those situations. He got an award that was well deserved so I know in that situation what he’s trying to get to. And I came to help and Steph reacted immediately, went and get a contest on Harrison’s shot, and Harrison missed.”
