Andrew Wiggins is rolling as the Warriors advance to the knockout round of the NBA Cup

Andrew Wiggins only reached 30 points once in 71 games last season. That happened more than a year ago, in mid-November at home against the Thunder, a one-night spurt in what was otherwise a pretty deep early-season shooting slump. He would struggle enough over the following month that Steve Kerr even temporarily moved Wiggins to the bench for the first time in his career as their record stood at 10-14.

Circumstances are different for Wiggins and the Warriors in November. Nor wobble. Wiggins put up 30 points Friday night in Golden State’s 112-108 win in New Orleans, and the Warriors ran their record to a conference-best 12-3, clinching Group C of the NBA Cup in the process.

It was Wiggins’ first 30-point night in more than a year, but it was a continuation of a steady streak, more than a blip. This week he had 22 points on 7-of-12 shooting against the Clippers, 27 points on 12-of-17 shooting against the Hawks and then 30 against the Pelicans on 9-of-14 shooting.

This might have been the most consequential aspect of Wiggins’ stat line: 9 of 9 from the free throw line, a sign of both his aggression and his shooting groove. It is Wiggins’ most made free throws in a game since April 2021 and his most goals without a miss since scoring 20 points per game. game at the Timberwolves in 2017.

“He’s in a good frame of mind,” Kerr told reporters after the game. “The last few years have been very tough for him on a personal level. I think he has a little peace of mind. He came into the camp in good shape.”

Wiggins spent the summer burying his head in work and grieving for his father, Mitchell Wiggins, who died in September after a prolonged illness that forced Andrew Wiggins away from the team at times the past two seasons. He showed up to training camp and played well enough that Kerr and Mike Dunleavy noticed how focused and sharp he looked in their intro press conferences.

Wiggins missed much of training camp with bronchitis, but returned in time for the start of the regular season, rediscovering his elite defensive form on the rim while producing at a steady rate offensively his first 13 games: 17.2 points on 48 percent shooting and 41 percent overall. . Last season at this point, Wiggins was averaging 12.7 points on 41 percent shooting overall and a devastating 26 percent from 3.

Against the Pelicans, Wiggins kept the sluggish Warriors in the game in the opening minutes, making three 3s and scoring 13 points in the first six minutes. For many of Kerr’s defensively focused lineups to survive offensively around Steph Curry, they need Wiggins to space the floor at this power of a speed consistently, either drawing defenders away or punishing them when they go astray.

The last of Wiggins’ nine markers in New Orleans came with five minutes remaining as the Warriors tried to bleed away the win. Without a true second-star scorer next to Curry, it’s a by-committee approach. But Wiggins is the most accomplished of the options, having once been a go-to scorer. It’s the kind of occasional isolation buckets they’ll need in crunch time from him.

A few hours after Wiggins and the Warriors finished off the Pelicans, the Mavericks won in Denver, a pair of combination results that clinched Group C of the NBA Cup for the Warriors. They advance to the quarterfinals of the knockout round with a chance to go to Las Vegas.

Their final pool game in Denver on Dec. 3 and the resulting all-conference point differential will determine their venue and opponent in the quarterfinals. The Lakers and Rockets are the undefeated leaders of the other two groups, and the Mavericks are the favorite to land the wild card slot.

(Photo: Tyler Kaufman/Getty Images)