Andrew Wiggins breaks out, but Warriors lose in overtime to Oklahoma City
Golden State Warriors lose sixth straight to Oklahoma City Thunder

>Golden State Warriors’ Andrew Wiggins (22) takes a shot against
Sacramento Kings’ Davion Mitchell (15) in the second quarter at the
Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2023. (Nhat
V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
By SHAYNA RUBIN | srubin@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group
PUBLISHED: November 18, 2023 at 8:11 p.m. | UPDATED: November 19, 2023
at 3:12 p.m.
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2023/11/18/andrew-wiggins-breaks-out-but-warriors-lose-in-overtime-to-oklahoma-city/

SAN FRANCISCO — It could have been Andrew Wiggins’ night.

Three seconds remained on the clock when Wiggins went up for what could
have been a game-winning 3-point shot. When it swished, Chase Center
erupted, his teammates grabbed him in a bear hug and Wiggins grinned.

What better way to break out of a dreadful slump shooting 13.5% from 3
than a 31-point night with five 3-pointers capped off with what looked
like the game-winning splash?

Wiggins’ big night turned into harsh reality within the 1.5 seconds that
remained on the clock after his big 3. Oklahoma City Thunder called
timeout to advance the ball and Chet Holmgren hit a game-tying 3-pointer
right in Wiggins’ face to send it to overtime. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
scored 10 tough points in OT to hand Golden State a 130-123 loss on
Saturday night.

Suddenly, the urgency of a six-game losing streak and all the Warriors’
mistakes flooded in to overshadow Wiggins’ day.

“Losing streak like this, there’s urgency for sure,” Steph Curry said.
“Anytime you lose this many in a row, there’s a problem you have to fix.
And you don’t want to develop a losing mentality at any stretch in the
season. That’s a stink in the locker room you don’t want to have in there.”

The stink will emanate from the last play, for sure. The Warriors were
up three. Why not foul Holmgren on the inbound pass? Fear of giving away
three free throws over ceding a challenging shot, coach Steve Kerr said.

“We only wanted to foul if it was a clean foul,” Kerr said. “I’ve seen a
lot of plays where you foul early and they still give the guy a shooting
foul. So you have to be really careful. We switched and Wiggins got a
good challenge. Chet just made an incredible shot.”

The Warriors had an 18-point lead mid-way through the third quarter.
How’d this game get to overtime? The Warriors point to a span in which
they turned the ball over three times in one minute late in the third.
Two bad passes from Jonathan Kuminga and one from Steph Curry spiraled
into a 22-6 Oklahoma City run without a timeout called.

“We turned it over (three) straight times we completely lost our focus,”
Kerr said. “Young, talented team like that, let them off the hook,
they’re gonna make you pay.”

Curry called this six-game losing streak a “perfect storm” of bad luck.
He returned on Saturday after missing two games nursing a sore knee,
which coincided with Draymond Green’s ejection and five-game suspension
for putting Minnesota’s Rudy Gobert in a chokehold. All this while Klay
Thompson and Wiggins try to break out of numbing shooting slumps and
Chris Paul adjusts to a life off the bench he had never experienced in
his previous 18 NBA seasons.

All the Warriors seem convinced they’re better than the 6-8 record, 1-6
home record and six-game losing streak. That they’re better than the
mistakes that turn comfortable wins into devastating overtime losses.

Heading into Saturday’s game, the Warriors were outscored by 74 points
total in the minutes Wiggins played and outscored opponents by 81 when
he was off the court. That slump was only magnified by a growing sense
that Curry needed someone — anyone — to help him out a little with the
scoring load. As Thompson’s struggles continue — he went 5-of-9 from the
field through three quarters, then scoreless in the fourth — Wiggins’
big game felt like a gust of fresh air to flush the stink.

“That’s part of it,” Curry said. “Hitting shots is great, you just like
to see him having fun out there and being rewarded for the energy he’s
putting in the game. That was great to see. And obviously he hit some
big shots. The message for him is to be aggressive and take shots you
think you should take.

“It’s nice to see him get rewarded. Hopefully it continues.”

>RELATED ARTICLES
Steph Curry returns to play against Oklahoma City Thunder
Warriors: Steph Curry could return Saturday, Gary Payton II ruled
out, Steve Kerr calls for faster play
Five observations from the Warriors’ five-game losing streak
Warriors drop fifth straight against Oklahoma City Thunder
Warriors react to Draymond Green’s suspension: “He definitely did go
too far”

The Warriors host the Houston Rockets to close out this home stand, then
head to Phoenix to play the Suns for a pre-Thanksgiving game. They
return home to play the San Antonio Spurs, followed by a game in
Sacramento against the Kings.