Wiggins’ fourth-quarter Luke defense helped seal the Warriors’ victory originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
SAN FRANCISCO – Luka Dončić was well on his way to another big game and stole the spotlight while The return of Klay Thompson to the Bay Area before Andrew Wiggins stepped up and squashed almost everything Dončić attempted in the fourth quarter.
Dončić, who dropped 31 points in 29 minutes through the first three quarters, got booed when it counted most. Wiggins held the Dallas superstar scoreless in nearly 12 minutes down the stretch, preventing the Mavs from a late rally in. Golden State’s 120-117 win in Chase Center.
It wasn’t just the fourth quarter either. Doncic certainly got his, but Wiggins forced the five-time All-Star into 2-of-10 shooting behind the arc.
“Wiggs was great,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “I just think there has to be a cumulative effect on Luka. You can’t stop him, he gets so many shots. You just have to try to make it difficult.
“He played 41 minutes, Wiggs was draped all over him. And I thought maybe that affected the 3-point shooting a little bit. He’s such a phenomenal player but you just make it difficult. I thought that’s what Wiggs did.”
Coming off the heels of his impressive defensive stint holding down Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics last week, Wiggins stepped up again and did a good job of keeping Dončić from really taking over.
“He’s tough. He’s as tough as it gets,” Wiggins said. “The ball is in his hands the whole game. You know he’s going to shoot the ball. Every time he drives, he’s going to take a chance.”
It was Dončić’s worst 3-point shooting game since he went 1-for-9 then 1-for-8 in back-to-back games in late October.
“Just keep making it difficult for him, that’s all I can do,” Wiggins told NBC Sports Bay Area after the game. “Sometimes you can’t be too physical because the referees sometimes won’t let you play and you just have to figure out the play. I felt like they call a lot of things today, so I just tried to stay solid and make it difficult. I knew my guys had my back.”
