Two weeks ago, Andrew Wiggins helped lead his team to a win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.
He will try to replicate that feat — which has become a rarity — with a new team when the Miami Heat play in Oklahoma City on Wednesday.
Wiggins scored 27 points on 10-of-17 shooting in Golden State’s 116-109 home win over the Thunder on Jan. 29, then was part of a five-team trade that landed him in Miami at the trade deadline Feb. 6 and sent Jimmy Butler to the Warriors.
Wiggins made his Heat debut in Monday’s 103-85 loss to Boston, going just 3 of 12 from the floor with 11 points, five rebounds and five assists.
“It’s the NBA. When you get traded midseason, you’ve got to figure it out,” Wiggins said after the loss. “That’s what I’m trying to do. We have great teammates here, (a) great coaching staff. Everybody has been wonderful to me, so I’m excited. We didn’t win today, but we’ve got a lot coming down the stretch.”
Wiggins wasn’t the only new face making his Heat debut Monday. The Heat’s other acquisitions in the trade, guard Davion Mitchell and forward Kyle Anderson, debuted as well.
“I see the potential in all three of them,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of the trio of newcomers. “I think they will be big-time value adds to what we’re trying to do. We want to get them as comfortable as possible. I think Wiggs, once he gets really comfortable, you can see the areas that he can help on both ends of the court. But he’s a weapon offensive. Defensively, he can really move. … And then the other two guys, they’ll fit right in defensively with what we’re doing.”
Wednesday’s game features two top-10 defenses.
The Thunder leads the NBA in defensive rating at 104.2, well ahead of the rest of the pack. Miami is just inside the top 10 at 111.9 points allowed per 100 possessions.
Since losing that game to Wiggins and the Warriors, the Thunder have been running away with games and sport a league-best 43-9 (.827) mark entering play on Tuesday.
Oklahoma City has won six consecutive games, with an average margin of victory of nearly 26 points per game.
That includes Monday’s 137-101 win over New Orleans where the Thunder hit a franchise-record 27 3-pointers.
That included four 3-pointers and 24 points from Oklahoma City’s Wiggins — Aaron Wiggins.
During the Thunder’s winning streak, Wiggins is averaging 23.2 points per game and shooting 57.6 percent from the field and 48.8 percent from beyond the arc.
“I’m just kind of playing confident,” Wiggins said. “Guys are finding me, and I’m getting good looks. Shots are falling, so I’m just continuing to kind of play within the offense and try to make plays.”
Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will be looking to extend his personal stretch of success on Wednesdays.
Gilgeous-Alexander has scored 50 or more points on each of the last three Wednesdays — beginning with his 54-point performance in a win over Utah on Jan. 22.
Gilgeous-Alexander followed that with a 52-point performance against the Warriors, and 50 points in last week’s win over Phoenix.
Wednesday’s game is the second and final between the teams this regular season.
Oklahoma City won the first, 104-97, on Dec. 20 in Miami.
–Field Level Media
