Steph Curry, Andrew Wiggins form prolific Warriors one-two punch – NBC Sports Bay Area & California

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Stephen Curry lost his coveted and beloved Splash Brother when Klay Thompson jumped ship to join the Dallas Mavericks, depriving the Warriors of one of their top scorers and best defenders.

Andrew Wiggins is doing his best to fill that void.

Playing at a level very reminiscent of his NBA All-Star season three years ago, when the Warriors won their fourth NBA championship in eight years, Wiggins has played a very significant role in Golden State’s impressive start – the Warriors improved to 12-3 after their 112-108 win over the Pelicans in New Orleans on Friday.

The former no. 1 overall draft pick was in top form against the Pelicans. He scored a season-high 30 points to go with three rebounds, four assists, one block and one steal. Part of that included Wiggins going 9 of 9 from the free throw line, an area where the Warriors have had serious trouble this season.

It was the eighth 30-point game of Wiggins’ tenure with Golden State and the 48thth of his NBA career.

“Andrew is fine,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “You saw him knock down all the threes early, his free throws. He looked great out there, his defense on (Brandon) Ingram. A lot of good stuff.”

Wiggins’ performance in New Orleans might have raised a few eyebrows around the NBA, but Warriors fans have seen plenty of this from the 29-year-old as the season kicks off.

Wiggins has scored 20 or more points in each of his last three games, something he hadn’t done since November 2022, when he did it in four consecutive games.

In his recent stretch, Wiggins is shooting at a 65.1 percent clip (28 of 43) and nearly as good (8 of 15, 53.3 percent) from 3-point range.

The Warriors have needed it all, too.

Curry got off to a bit of a slow start against the Pelicans, but Wiggins came out firing and helped the Warriors take early control of a game that went back and forth all night.

Wiggins made all five shots he took in the first quarter, including a trio of threes, and scored 13 of his 30 points in the first 12 minutes. It was the 11thth time in Wiggins’ NBA career that he has made five or more shots without missing in a quarter.

Curry eventually got going and scored 19 points, an average night for a scorer like him.

It may not be Splash Brothers 2.0, but the combination of Curry and Wiggins has proven to be a critical and central part of this season’s version of the Warriors.

The duo has combined for 43 points or more in eight of Golden State’s 15 games so far, forming a very solid and productive one-two punch.

Much of Wiggins’ night was spent defending Ingram. Ingram had 18 points but needed 16 shots to get there.

Wiggins also came up big in clutch time, making four free throws over the final two minutes to seal the win.

The Warriors are now 10-3 this season in games Wiggins starts.

“I feel like I’m in a pretty good rhythm right now,” Wiggins said. “I just try to keep myself involved, stay confident, stay aggressive and just try to attack the rim.”

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