-
Kendra Andrews, ESPN
LOS ANGELES — The Golden State Warriors are hopeful that forward Andrew Wiggins will be available for Game 6 despite suffering a left costal cartilage fracture.
Wiggins will go through his pregame routine to see how his injury at the rib cage feels before a final decision is made, sources told ESPN. He participated in the walkthrough portion of Friday’s shootaround before getting treatment while the rest of the team went through individual shooting drills.
The team believes Wiggins suffered the fracture midway through the fourth quarter of Game 5 of their Western Conference playoff series against the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday. He was in visible pain in the locker room after the game, sources told ESPN. Wiggins told the team he’d be OK, but an MRI revealed the costal cartilage fracture, according to the sources.
Wiggins’ performance in Game 5 was instrumental to the Warriors. He finished with 25 points on 10-of-18 shooting, as well as 7 rebounds and 5 assists, prompting coach Steve Kerr to call it Wiggins’ best game since he returned from a two-month absence at the start of the playoffs.
It was his third-highest-scoring playoff game ever, behind his 27- and 26-point efforts last postseason.
With the Warriors facing elimination once again Friday night, trailing the Lakers 3-2 in the series, Wiggins’ void — both on offense and on defense, where he has been guarding LeBron James — would be a massive loss for Golden State.