Warriors feel 'whole' with Andrew Wiggins back in Game 1 loss

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — For the second year in a row, the Golden State Warriors entered the playoffs on the verge of finally being a whole team again. Last season, it was their best player who was returning. This season, it was their X factor.

Andrew Wiggins made his return Saturday night in Game 1 of the Warriors' first-round series against the Sacramento Kings, giving Golden State back what it considers the missing piece to its puzzle despite the Game 1 loss.

«When you go through all the decisions to put a roster together, all of the pieces have to fit,» Stephen Curry said. «He's a big part of everything we do. When you go into a season, you want to be as fully healthy as possible because that's the way all the pieces are meant to fit. We haven't had it for a very long time and we tried to hold down the fort. Now we have that look back.»

Saturday was Wiggins' first game since Feb. 13, after he missed two months because of a family matter. Even with the long layoff, Wiggins appeared comfortable.

In 28 minutes, he finished with 17 points on 7-of-16 shooting and four blocked shots, including three in the first half — tied for the most in any half of his career. Warriors coach Steve Kerr said the plan was to have Wiggins play the closing five to six minutes of each quarter and the rest at the top of the following period. Kerr did not indicate if this would be the plan for Wiggins in Game 2.

«So awesome to have him back,» Kerr said. «You know, we're whole with him out there. Our team makes sense with Wiggs back. I thought he looked really good. The first half was amazing, second half he maybe wore down a little bit, which is to be expected, given he hasn't played in a game in over two months. He was fantastic.»

Klay Thompson