The Golden State Warriors managed to get their redemption against the San Antonio Spurs. After suffering a tough loss against Gregg Popovich’s boys on Saturday night, the Stephen Curry-less Warriors defeated them 112-102 tonight. While Jonathan Kuminga and Klay Thompson recorded a combined 43 points for the Bay Area side, it was rookie Trayce Jackson-Davis who had the play of the night, putting Victor Wembanyama on a poster.
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During the dying moments of the closely contested bout, Victor Wembanyama was guarding Trayce Jackson-Davis on the perimeter. Thanks to a gorgeous spin move, the Warriors’ center lost Wemby and had an open lane to the basket. Despite the Frenchman covering the ground, Jackson-Davis got the better of him and flushed down a majestic slam, as seen in the post shared by @TheHoopCentral on X.
TRAYCE JACKSON-DAVIS OVER VICTOR WEMBANYAMA.
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) March 12, 2024
Following the Bay Area side’s 10-point win, Trayce Jackson-Davis was asked about the incredible play on Wembanyama. After dissecting the play from his perspective, the Warriors rookie revealed how he had a conversation about a potential poster dunk with Kevon Looney before the game.
“I saw that he overplayed it and he overplayed it to my right. Obviously, I am left handed so I think I spun and got to my left hand and then I had to step on him. I told Loon before the game that if I got the chance to try him (Wembanyama), I would. At the end of the day, sometimes you dunk on people or sometimes you get dunked on,” Jackson-Davis explained.
“I told Loon before the game that if I got the chance to try him, I would.”
TJD spoke his dunk on Wemby into existence pic.twitter.com/dXM84w2vVl
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) March 12, 2024
Trayce made a huge contribution to the Golden State’s win. Coming off the bench and playing almost 26:28 minutes, he finished the night with a 13-point, 10-rebound double-double along with 5 assists on 85.7% shooting, as per NBA.com.
The 24-year-old also had a great outing against the Bucks on Wednesday, where he scored 15 points and 6 rebounds in just 19 minutes. These important contributions of his has given Steve Kerr options for rotation and this is one of the key reasons the Warriors are cementing their place for a play-in.
Chris Paul had huge praise for Trayce Jackson-Davis
Trayce Jackson-Davis left every fan of his pleased with his fifth double-double performance of the 2023-2024 season. Chris Paul was among the many who seemed to be impressed with the 24-year-old’s production. Following the game, CP3 told the reporters how the rookie was providing the Warriors a “different dimension”, being an aerial threat. Lauding the 6ft 9” player, the Point God said:
“He watched this team play for a long time He can move the ball and share the ball really well. With the shooting that we have… Trayce gives us a different dimension with the lob threat.”
CP3 says TJD’s ability to throw down lobs brings a new “dimension” to the team pic.twitter.com/I9jooqC8iy
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) March 12, 2024
Playing 26:28 minutes is among the most playing time that the youngster has received in a single game this season. However, Steve Kerr made it pretty clear that the Warriors were going to bump the rookie’s minutes following the 3rd March win over the Milwaukee Bucks.
Kerr says he decided “ramp up” TJD’s minutes to get him ready for the playoffs pic.twitter.com/fporqULzic
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) March 7, 2024
Over the past two games, Jackson-Davis has been playing 25+ minutes per game and his display has been motivating – 12 points, 7 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.5 blocks per game, as per ESPN. With 18 games remaining in the campaign, such outings from Trayce will have a huge impact in helping Stephen Curry lead the Golden State Warriors in their push for a playoff spot.
