SAN FRANCISCO – With 2:27 left in the first half on Saturday night, Jonathan Kuminga lay motionless under the basket after an awkward fall while attempting to block a shot. Chase Center fell silent, the crowd holding its breath, as Andrew Wiggins stood nearby, helplessly watching.
For Wiggins, it was a wake-up call.
Just 85 seconds later, with 1:02 left in the half, the urgency reached a fever pitch. Memphis guard Desmond Bane collided with Wiggins on a drive, sending him sprawling to the floor. To add insult to injury, Wiggins was called for a blocking foul as Bane’s shot fell through the net.
That moment ignited something in Wiggins.
The first half had been a lackluster display from both teams, but no one on the Warriors needed a spark more than Wiggins. Up to that point, he had managed just one field goal with no rebounds or assists. However, when Wiggins returned for the second half, he was a different player.
He wasted no time, hitting a floater 12 seconds into the third quarter. He followed it with a three-pointer 64 seconds later, then nailed another jumper just two possessions after that.
“That bump,” Wiggins said, referring to the play with Bane. “It woke me up.”
Wiggins scored eight points in the first two-and-a-half minutes of the third quarter, added 10 more over the next seven minutes, and finished the quarter with an impressive 18 points during his 10-minute stint.
“Wiggs, in that third quarter, when JK was out – he was 1-of-6 at halftime – just took over when we really needed him the most,” coach Steve Kerr said.
Wiggins ended the game with a team-high 24 points, breathing life into a Warriors offense that had been struggling. His surge was particularly crucial given Kuminga’s absence, as the forward limped to the locker room after his fall and was later diagnosed with a significant right ankle sprain.
“It’s not going to be a day-to-day thing,” Kerr said. “It was a significant sprain.”
With Kuminga sidelined, the Warriors will need even more from Wiggins. Kuminga is the team’s second-leading scorer behind Stephen Curry, with Wiggins just behind him in third. With Curry managing soreness in both knees and Kuminga’s status uncertain, Wiggins must embrace a more aggressive role.
He can’t afford to be the player who had faded offensively in recent games, averaging just 9.5 points on 37.2 percent shooting from the field and a dismal 22.2 percent from three.
Kerr credited the Bane collision as the turning point for Wiggins.
“That Desmond Bane play, when he ran through him at the end of the half,” Kerr said. “That made Wiggs mad. So, he came out ready to go in the third.”
Wiggins’ emphatic response culminated with a driving dunk in the final minutes, putting the Warriors up 119-109 and effectively sealing their 121-113 victory.
It was as if Kuminga’s injury shook Wiggins out of his slump, awakening the intensity and focus he needed—not just for this game, but for the challenges that lie ahead.