PBJ puts fingerprints on Warriors’ win, looks like he belongs originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
SAN FRANCISCO – Patrick Baldwin Jr. spent Wednesday afternoon practicing in Santa Cruz and went to bed that night as the toast of San Francisco.
There he was, on the NBC Sports Bay Area’s Warriors Postgame show.
And there he was a few minutes later, at the victory podium in the Chase Center interview room.
Such were the 20-year-old rookie’s rewards for playing a surprisingly pivotal role in a stunning comeback victory, 112-107, over the Utah Jazz.
With Draymond Green and Donte DiVincenzo listed as “questionable” on the injury report, the Warriors made the mid-afternoon call to Santa Cruz for Baldwin and fellow rookie Ryan Rollins.
Rollins didn’t play, but Baldwin responded with 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting, including 3-of-5 from beyond the arc. He added four rebounds. He was a team-best plus-13 over 13 minutes off the bench.
“It’s not easy,” said DiVincenzo, who was cleared to play and scored 19 points. “I think for him coming in, just tell him to be aggressive. Don’t worry about anything else just be aggressive. Defensively, he was good. He was talking out there which is really hard for a young player in that environment to talk. We are on him every day about talking, and I think he did a great job tonight. We definitely needed it.”
Though Baldwin had gotten spot minutes in nine previous NBA games, he has spent most of this season on the roster of Golden State’s G League affiliate.
This, then, was PBJ’s first NBA exposure under truly competitive conditions.
“Patrick changed the game when he stepped out there and knocked down those 3s,” coach Steve Kerr said. “Especially the one . . . early fourth (quarter), just kind of popped out, pick-and-pop jumper. It felt like a game-changer right there.”
That shot, 26 seconds into the fourth quarter pulled the Warriors within three points, at 94-91, the closest they’d been since the first half. Jordan Poole followed that 31 seconds later with another 3-ball, tying the game.
The 12-point deficit was gone, and the game – during which the Warriors mostly played from behind – was on. Draymond organized the fourth-quarter defense, which held Utah to 13 points on 4-of-25 shooting, and Baldwin was the lone rookie sharing the court with the Golden State vets during the comeback.
“When you check in the game and Draymond tells you to let it fly, you let it fly,” Baldwin said. “It’s just great confidence. And you just have to stay ready.”
Baldwin said he woke up around 9 a.m. PT, went over to Kaiser Permanente Arena for practice and received the text shortly afterward that he and Rollins would be needed in San Francisco – just in case Green or DiVincenzo were unavailable.
Ninety minutes and two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches later, they were at Chase Center.
“They arrived about an hour before the game,” Kerr said. “So, so it was . . . it’s pretty impressive for them to keep going back and forth and then for Patrick to come in and play the way he did. It’s exciting. He’s got a lot of skill and he’s not afraid.
“The biggest thing is his shooting. Because he can step out and knock down a shot, it changes the chessboard.”
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Both Green (six points, nine rebounds, five assists, three blocks) and DiVincenzo were major factors in the game. Their fingerprints were all over the victory.
So, too, were those of Baldwin, who came away from his dance with legitimate NBA competition feeling like he belongs. It certainly looked that way.