The Warriors won a game they were supposed to Wednesday night, but it was far from uneventful. Stephen Curry hit another milestone, Brandin Podziemski took a shot to the face, Andrew Wiggins got going, and Draymond Green picked up a technical foul.
Here are three takeaways from the 137-116 win over the Memphis Grizzlies.
Draymond gets a tech and Taylor Jenkins goes down
By far the spiciest moment of this game came in the second quarter. Draymond Green held onto Grizzlies wing Santi Aldama for a bit too long after a score. Aldama said something to Green on the way down the court, and then said something to officials, pointing out what Green had done.
After a Warriors score, the Grizzlies called a timeout and head coach Taylor Jenkins gestured to officials, discernibly asking why there had been no foul or technical foul on Green.
Green saw that and went over towards the officials, but had a hand put on him by Desmond Bane. He pushed back on Bane, and eventually a scrum ensued, which knocked Jenkins to the floor.
Officials reviewed and gave both Green and Bane technical fouls, after which they shook hands. It marked Green's eighth technical foul of the season.
Curry hits 300th 3-pointer
For the fifth time in his career, Stephen Curry hit his 300th 3-pointer of the season. If you are looking for context on how impressive that is, bare in mind that it has only been done seven times.
The only other players to hit 300-plus 3-pointers in a season are Klay Thompson and James Harden, who have both done it once.
At age 36, Curry still remains timeless. With 301 3-pointers made on the season, he could, if he stays hot, have the second-most 3-pointers in a season. Harden's 378 in a season are second to Curry's 402 in 2015-16. Curry would need to average 5.5 per game through the final 14 games to tie that mark.
Given what the Warriors did in the second half, Curry only had to log 24 minutes, scoring 14 (5-of-9, 4-of-7). It also allowed another milestone: the first career NBA points for Warriors two-way player (and former lacrosse star) Pat Spencer.
22-0 run and Wiggins gets going
Things were close in the late second quarter, after that Green back and forth with Aldama seemed to get the swingman going. Aldama was 6-of-9 on 3-pointers in the first half alone with 21 points.
But the Warriors ended the first half with a 10-0 run to separate themselves, then stretched it to a 22-0 run through the start of the second half.
Andrew Wiggins was a major part of that run. He had nine of his 22 points in the start of the second half. It was a major departure from his rightfully criticized performances in which he falls into the background.
In this game, Wiggins' impact was glaring, especially with the way he crashed the boards and shot from deep. His 22 came on 9-of-14 shooting from the field and 4-of-6 from 3-point range with 10 rebounds, 6 of which came on the offensive glass. He also had 3 assists and a block, logging a team-high +27.
When he isn't locked it, it's obvious. But when he is — as increasingly rare as it is — Wiggins might still be the Warriors' most impactful two-way player.
It's contagious when he plays that well, and he wasn't the only one who was effective. Draymond Green had 10, 12 and 7 with a steal and block. Jonathan Kuminga was a menace in the lane, attacking the rim all night in a 26-point, 5 rebound, 4-assist, 2-steal night.
Trayce Jackson-Davis was also aggressive at the rim, putting in 13 points, 5 rebounds and a couple assists. He was a frequent beneficiary of Chris Paul, who put up 12 points, 14 assists and 4 rebounds off the bench.
Lastly, there was Klay Thompson, who looked smooth and steady. He poured in an efficient 23 points on 9-of-8 shooting and 5-of-11 shooting.
It's easy to discount a comfortable Warriors win over a very bad Grizzlies team (though G.G. Jackson dropped 33 points), but a welcome win, on the back of a resurgent performance from Wiggins is not nothing. It seems doubtful that Wiggins would continue to perform at this level, but there are crazier things to hope for.
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