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While everybody was busy preparing for their funeral outfit, the Oklahoma City Thunder saw their playoff hopes be saved by their bench. A 92-87 Game 4 win over the Denver Nuggets tied the Round 2 series at 2-2 as Aaron Wiggins was one-third of a reserve hero who helped get an ugly victory.
Wiggins scored 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting in the second half alone. He shot 3-of-6 from 3. While his defensive struggles have limited his playoff playing time, the Thunder desperately needed another scorer out there to help Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
That’s where Wiggins came in. Known as a basketball savior, the 26-year-old joined Alex Caruso and Cason Wallace as the unlikely heroes to help the Thunder avoid a deadly 3-1 series deficit. His 16 minutes were the most he played in a playoff game since OKC’s historic Game 1 win over the Memphis Grizzlies.
For Wiggins, it’s nothing new. He’s spent most of his time on the Thunder with rocky rotation minutes. Some games, he’ll put up 40 points. Other games, he’ll be a DNP. He had a career season this past year but has seen his playing time dwindle when the stakes were at their highest.
Instead of being upset, Wiggins has stayed ready. The Thunder called on him as they looked for offense. He answered the call with cuts to the basket and hitting on his outside looks.
“Just kinda trying to make sure I’m ready whenever my name is called. To make a play or go into a game. As a team, everybody is keyed in on winning,” Wiggins said. “Nobody is thinking about the rotation or the minutes or points. Everybody is trying to make sure just keyed in on, ‘When it’s my time, how do I make the best of my minutes to help the team win?’”
The Thunder have been a defense-first squad. They were the best in the NBA across most categories. But sometimes you’ve got to give up a little to gain a little. With the offense in the rut, Wiggins was the perfect scoring punch off the bench that helped OKC even its series against Denver.
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