Wiggins comes up huge in Warriors’ win over Suns

The Golden State Warriors are playing their basketball of the season at the perfect time.

Andrew Wiggins had 38 points and seven rebounds, Steph Curry chipped in with 21, while Draymond Green finished with a triple-double (11 points, 12 assists, 10 rebounds) to lead the Dubs to a 122-116 win over the Phoenix Suns.

Golden State has now beaten the top-two teams in the NBA on consecutive nights. This game had a playoff feel to it throughout the 48 minutes.

The Suns held a 103-98 with just over nine minutes remaining before Wiggins began some big plays for Golden State.

He scored 10 out of the next 14 points for the Warriors, helping them pull even at 110-110 with just under three minutes to go.

All-star point guard Chris Paul gave Phoenix a 113-110 lead on its next possessions, but it was all Golden State from there. Wiggins, Juan Toscano-Anderson and Jordan Poole — who finished with 20 in the game — combined for eight straight points for the Warriors, which gave them a five-point lead.

Golden State was able to hang on from there and preserve the win.

“There were so many great storylines within the game, so many guys who just contributed so much to it. But it was mainly just the fact that we hung in there,” head coach Steve Kerr said following the win. “They were up 16 i think in the first half. Obviously they were doing a great job on Steph, but we hung in there, kept moving the ball, trusted each other, and made great plays down the stretch.”

Despite Curry’s cold shooting to start the game, the Dubs held a 19-15 lead midway through the first. But the Suns stormed back and went on a 17-4 run to go up by nine, which forced Kerr to take a time out. Golden State kept pace the rest of the way and found itself down 38-29 after one.

The second unit remained competitive in the non-Curry minutes to start the second but gave up some ground to Phoenix. By the time Steph got back on the floor, the Warriors’ deficit had gone up to 13.

The Suns continued to focus on Curry and kept him in check throughout the first half. Phoenix held the NBA’s leading scorer to just eight points on 2-of-8 shooting, but the Dubs were able to cut into the lead during the final six minutes of the second. Andrew Wiggins hit a buzzer-beater to finish the second, and Golden State trailed 66-58 at the break.

The Dubs did a great job of chipping away at the Suns’ lead in the third. Curry was able to hit some shots and finished with nine points and helped the Warriors cut the lead to 98-92 going into the final quarter.

Golden State maintains its half-game lead on the Memphis Grizzlies for eighth in the Western Conference.

The Warriors have won four in a row going into their final two regular season matchups. They’ll host the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday.

With the victory over Phoenix, Sunday’s finale against the Grizzlies will likely have massive implications. Memphis hosts the Sacramento Kings twice before visiting the Bay Area. If the Grizzlies can win one of those games, it means the winner of Sunday’s showdown will be the No. 8 seed in the west and will only have to win one game in order to advance to the first round of the NBA playoffs.