NBA scores 2016: Andrew Wiggins is breaking out in his 3rd season

He scored a career-high 47 points against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Nov 14, 2016, 1:00 PM UTC

Andrew Wiggins has been overshadowed by the Minnesota Timberwolves’ other No. 1 pick, Karl-Anthony Towns, since the beginning of last year. As Towns improved game-by-game, Wiggins remained largely complacent from his rookie to sophomore season.

But the third year has been something else for the Kansas product. Through nine games, Wiggins is averaging 26 points per game on 48 percent shooting from the field and 55 percent shooting from deep. A year ago, Wiggins produced 21 points on 46 percent shooting and 31 percent from deep.

On Sunday night, with Zach Lavine out and Towns struggling, Wiggins took over as the star and the top option on offense on his way to a career-best 47 points on 14-of-21 shooting to beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 125-99. He knocked down two shots out of five from three-point range, and took a page out of James Harden’s book by working his way to the free-throw line 22 times. He also finished with four rebounds, three assists, and a blocked shot.

His numbers didn’t seem to impress his competition, D’Angelo Russell, though, who struggled with just seven points on 3-of-10 shooting.

“Anybody in this league is capable of doing that when you go to the free-throw line that many times,” he told L.A. Daily News’ Mark Medina.

But not just anybody can get to the line that often.

Wiggins was solid in the post, created for himself off the dribble and faced up for jump shots in what was the most complete offensive performance of his young career. It’s seemingly forgotten that he is still just 21 years old.

Serge Ibaka got revenge in Oklahoma City

Ibaka hasn’t had a great start to his first season with the Orlando Magic, averaging just 12 points and six rebounds in 28 minutes. But he picked the perfect time to come to life against the team that traded him five months ago.

The big man scored the final bucket of a tight game with .4 seconds left to edge out a close win on his former home court, 119-117.

Ibaka finished with a career-high 31 points and a season-high nine rebounds to go along with four blocks. His outing bested Russell Westbrook’s 41 points, 16 assists, and 12 rebounds.

Klay Thompson returned

Through his first seven games of the season, Klay Thompson was firing at a dismal 21 percent from three-point range. He couldn’t get anything flowing from deep and scored over 20 points in a game just twice.

On Sunday night, he returned to form after two encouraging performances during the week. He scored a season-high 30 points on 11-of-18 shooting from the field and five of those makes were from range. Fourteen of those points came in the fourth quarter.

The Warriors as a whole still struggled to hold off a not-so-great Phoenix Suns team, only pulling ahead in the final minutes, 133-120. But their offense was in rhythm, and Kevin Durant left the trio of Stephen Curry, Thompson, and himself one point shy of all reaching 30 points. Draymond Green finished with 14 points, 11 assists, and seven rebounds, and the team again showed glimpses of what they’re destined to become.