SAN FRANCSICO — — When opposing defenders give too much attention to Splash Brothers Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins gets loose and makes them pay.
Wiggins scored a season-high 31 points, hitting two straight runs during a key streak midway through the third quarter, and the Golden State Warriors beat the Los Angeles Clippers 124-107 on Wednesday night.
“Steph is going to be Steph, always,” Wiggins said. “Tonight the ball was moving and found a lot of people, took a few shots.”
Wiggins shot 12 for 18 and tied his most 3-pointer this season with six in his third consecutive 20-point performance.
“He turns off the lights. He’s been so consistent on the court and on the 3-point line,” coach Steve Kerr said. “You see how comfortable he is in our attack, constantly slipping on the edge.”
Curry added 22 points, nine assists and six rebounds, while Thompson scored 18 points. He hit his first three shots and two 3-pointers and four of his first five shots on the way to 15 points in the first quarter.
After a slow start this season finding his shooting rhythm, Thompson was coming off a season-best 41-point game in Houston on Sunday, in which he went 10 3s.
Marcus Morris Sr. had 19 points to lead the Clippers and Terance Mann added 17. Amir Coffey scored his first three field goals, but Los Angeles went just 5 for 13 from long range in the first half to fall behind 66-47 at the break. while the Warriors shot 56.5%.
John Wall was limited to nine points on 2-for-8 shooting and missed all three of his 3-point tries.
Clippers star Kawhi Leonard was out with a sprained right ankle after landing on it on Monday as he tried to block a fourth-quarter shot Monday night in a home win over Utah.
Kerr wants to use Draymond Green more regularly with the second unit when possible to give the reserves a reliable ball handler and ground leader given their recent fights.
“It looks good and we’re going to keep doing it,” Kerr said of Green leading the second team.
Early in the fourth, Green went the length of the floor and in pain, then got rid of Anthony Lamb for a lay-up that made it 103-82 with 10:41 left. Green finished with 12 assists, nine points and seven rebounds.
“It’s huge for guys’ confidence,” Green said.
Golden State clinched its fifth game in the last six with 30 or more assists and leads the league. The Warriors committed just five turnovers in the first half and 13 in total, with Kerr insisting on taking care of the ball.
The Warriors won their seventh straight game at home and improved to 8-1 at Chase Center overall.
TIPS
Clippers: Coach Tyronn Lue doesn’t know when Leonard will return. “I woke up with pain in my ankle. I saw the game, it was a bit more than we thought,” Lue said. “But he’s fine, he feels better, he’s getting better. We therefore do not know of a timetable at the moment. … Los Angeles finished 11 for 28 over 3s. … The Clippers have lost four straight at the Warriors.
Warriors: Jordan Poole missed all eight of his 3-point attempts on a rare night off. Kerr was still happy with Poole’s play even though it didn’t show up in his stat line. … Jonathan Kuminga blocked a shot from John Wall in the stands in the third. … The Warriors are 5-1 at home to the Western Conference. … Golden State hasn’t lost at home to the Clippers since a 108-101 loss on Jan. 6, 2021. … As of this date in 2016, the Warriors have delivered a franchise-record 47 assists against the Lakers.
NEXT
Clippers: Host the Nuggets on Friday after losing the last two to Denver.
Warriors: Host the Jazz on Friday on a four-game winning streak at home to Utah.
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