After the Golden State Warriors struggled through rugby loss to start the season, they climbed back to .500.
Andrew Wiggins had his best game since joining the Dubs, with 27 points and seven rebounds when Golden State defeated the Detroit Pistons 116-106.
Stephen Curry had another strong outing, with 31 points in the win.
The Warriors end their season opener with four games 2-2 and play their next seven games at home.
Here are four takeaways from the Detroit victory:
Andrew Wiggins plays his best game as a fighter
This achievement awaited us at the overall number 1 in 2014. Wiggins scored 17 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter alone, which helped Golden State pull away from the Pistons.
It’s another job in progress, but Wiggins has begun to enforce Detroit’s will in the last twelve minutes. He made five-of-eight three-point attempts and was more aggressive in attacking the edge instead of being content with contested jumpers.
“We get better every game,” Wiggins said. ‘Every game we learn. Learn how to play with each other. ”
James Wiseman is the spearhead of the run that led the Dubs to victory
The rookie did not fill the state this time, but he had a big influence on the game. It is tied at 89:89 with 7:41 left and here is what Wiseman did about the next 1:22 match action:
- Contradicts Svi Mykhailiuk’s miss, leading to a training session of Brad Wanamaker.
- Block Sekou Doumbouya’s shot attempt, which results in a jumper by Wiggins.
- Block Mason Plumlee’s jumper in the lane, get the loose ball and go down the length of the lane for a nasty throw.
There is a lot away from this clip. Notice how quickly Wiseman recovers from the court and closes the space to contest Plumelee’s shot. Then he does not hesitate to take off and let the floor run like a gazelle.
This bucket helped the Dubs build a six-point, and they never looked back. Wiseman had six points, six rebounds in 22 minutes, before disappearing late in the fourth quarter. The 19-year-old has shown the potential he has, and with Draymond Green returning soon, I expect him to take his game to another level.
A story of two halves on the glass
Golden State fell on the boards through the first two quarters. Detroit took a rebound lead of 31-21 and dropped 12 points from the second chance from 12 offensive rebounds in the half.
The Dubs turned things around in the final 24 minutes and outscored the Pistons 19-15 in the second half. The Warriors’ defensive positioning enabled them to correct more boards in the second half. Their rotations were faster, which enabled the players to get inside position against their man.
The defense will have to keep getting better
After Golden State averaged 130 points during its first three games, Golden State was able to sharpen matters at the defensive point, albeit against one of the worst teams in the league. The Warriors started slowly, but kept Detroit to just 55 second-half points. Head coach Steve Kerr zoned for a while in the third quarter, which helped settle matters on the defensive side.
“We’ve turned a mess of a trip into a good one,” Kerr said. ‘Our most solid game in terms of our defense and intensity. Great victory. ”
Continuity will help Golden State improve the defense, which will be assisted by Green. The Dubs’ schedule becomes much more difficult over the next two weeks, with several matches against teams taking part in the play-offs. If the Warriors want a chance to be in the post-season, they will still have to be harder to score in the half.