Warriors lose to Mavs but Kerr says it was ‘best game I’ve ever seen JK play’
Jonathan Kuminga was benched three times in the first 10 games of the season, leaving the 20-year-old to wonder why.
But Kuminga, the No. 7 overall pick last summer, has proved over the last three games, including a stellar showing Tuesday night in the Warriors 116-113 loss to the Dallas Mavericks, that he belongs in the Warriors’ rotation.
Kuminga notched his first double-double of the season, recording 14 points and 10 rebounds in 25 minutes. He also had an assist and two blocks while finishing a team-high plus-21.
“Best game I’ve ever seen JK play,” coach Steve Kerr said after the close loss. “Everything he did contributed to making an impact on winning. His defense on Luka was fantastic. He was disciplined, he stayed down, he challenged shots, he had a couple of blocks, he stayed patient offensively.”
One example of that came late in the second quarter. Kuminga went one-on-one with Luka Doncic, forcing the Slovenian stud into a tough shot. Stephen Curry gobbled up the rebound and then found Kuminga on the other end for a dunk. Kuminga also hit a key corner 3 that pulled the Warriors within one with less than three minutes left in the game.
“He’s relied on, he’s trusted to go do his job,” Curry said of Kuminga. “Everything he did was in the spirit of trying to do gamewinning plays.”
Kuminga is putting an added emphasis on the little details. He recently told Kerr, “I’ll try my best even if I’m not scoring. That’s not going to stop me from coming in the game and tyring to have an impact on whatever is really needed in the moment.”
That hard work is starting to pay off.
Kuminga’s recent surge is in line with the evolution of the second unit, which has gone from an inefficient problem to a productive force with the addition of Draymond Green.
While one of the early storylines had been centered on that grouping’s dysfunction and lack of cohesion, Green’s veteran presence has helped get them back on track. Tuesday was another example of that.
After the Warriors fell into a 12-point hole due to shoddy shooting at the end of the first quarter, the Warriors’ second unit — Jordan Poole, Donte Divincenzo, Kuminga, Anthony Lamb and Green — more than survived the non-stephen Curry minutes, which have been a huge problem this season. With Curry catching his breath from the bench, Golden State went on a 16-6 run to pull within four by the time the Warriors superstar was ready to reenter the game.
By half, the Warriors were down only 55-54.
At the start of the fourth, with the Warriors down five, the second unit generated that magic again. Spencer Dinwiddie, who had 14 points, was ejected early in the fourth after being assessed a Flagrant 2 foul for elbowing Poole in the face. Moments later, Poole found Kuminga for a two-handed slam to give the Warriors a two-point lead. Poole, who finished with a season-high-tying nine assists, then got a steal for a dunk of his own to complete a 13-4 spurt for the Warriors’ second unit.
The run forced the Mavericks to call a timeout and send back in some of their starters, including Doncic.
That’s when the momentum started to shift, and while the Warriors stayed close, they couldn’t fend off the Mavericks.
Curry turned the ball over after being called for a travel with 10 seconds left. Then, Klay Thompson had a chance to send the game into overtime but his 3-pointer from the wing at the buzzer bounced off the rim. Thompson epitomized the Warriors’ shooting woes from distance — he went 1-for-6 on 3-pointers while the team made just 11 of 43 3-point attempts (25.6%).
“We very easily could have won that game but ball’s gotta go in the ho9op and some night it doesn’t,” Kerr said. “We just move past this one and get ready for the next one.”
Six Warriors finished in double figure scoring. Curry finished with a team-high 32 points, five assists and five rebounds. Draymond Green added 12 points, six rebounds and four assists. The Warriors’ bench outscored the Mavericks’ 43-29.
The Warriors dropped to 1111 on the season. They return to Chase Center Friday to host the Chicago Bulls.