Warriors get blasted by Kings; won't have Jonathan Kuminga for 3 weeks

By / / Sports / 5 minutes of reading


SAN FRANCISCO — Sunday couldn’t have gone much worse for the Golden State Warriors. In the afternoon, they learned a firmer diagnosis on Jonathan Kuminga’s significantly sprained right ankle. Kuminga, who isn’t putting weight on his right foot and said he’s struggling to get up the stairs in his house, will miss at least three weeks, ruling him out for a minimum of 11 games.

In their first game without Kuminga, who had been surging as a 30-minute per night scorer off the bench recently, the Warriors spent their Sunday night getting tattooed on their home floor 129-99 by a Sacramento Kings team that fired their coach last week and didn’t have De’Aaron Fox against an 18-17 Warriors team tumbling back toward them in the standings.

“I mean, a loss is a loss,” coach Steve Kerr said. “It’s not more alarming than any other loss. This is the NBA these days. It’s such a fast game, so many 3s that there are just going to be some nights where it goes your way or it goes the other team’s way. Sacramento was brilliant.”

The competitive portion of this game was done pretty quickly. The Kings came out hot from deep and active on the perimeter. The Warriors committed eight first-quarter turnovers. Five were steals. The Kings went up 36-21. The Warriors finished with 22 turnovers, leading to 34 Kings points. This was probably their sloppiest passing game of the season.

“Nobody likes to get embarrassed like that,” Steph Curry said. “Especially the way we started the first quarter. … When you’re looking up and it’s a double-digit lead before the first timeout and 36-21, we’re not really built for — especially with the situation, to have that crazy comeback.”

Curry’s choice of word — “built” — was particularly interesting with the trade deadline looming and an increased spotlight pointed toward a roster that, through 35 games, isn’t getting it done.

Curry’s point, it seems, is that this isn’t an offense that can make up points in bunches. Curry had 26 points on 8-of-12 shooting in 29 minutes, but they were still outscored by 16 points with him on the floor.

“We haven’t shown (we can be a come-from-behind team),” Curry said. “It’s one of those things where you don’t want to be in that situation … where you’re having to have crazy offensive fireworks to have a chance. That’s not our MO.”

Dennis Schröder missed six of his seven shots, unable to build momentum after his best game as a Warrior one night prior. Buddy Hield, off the bench, made only one of his five 3s, continuing an extended slump. Trayce Jackson-Davis missed all three of his shots at the rim, having difficulty finishing in traffic, and struggled defensively with Domantas Sabonis, leading to a Kevon Looney cameo. Looney played well.

On the defensive end, nobody could stay in front of Malik Monk, who served as the Kings’ primary playmaker without Fox and finished with 26 points and 12 assists. Sacramento outscored the Warriors by 41 points in his 29 minutes.

“Point of attack, they were getting downhill on us and we’re having to help and then they’re spreading the floor,” Kerr said. “They’ve got shooting everywhere. They’ve built a team the last couple of years that can shoot from one through four. So they spread us out and did a great job.”

It’s tough to envision Kuminga’s presence flipping such a lopsided result, but it’s clear the Warriors are going to miss their fourth-year wing. He was on crutches before the game and met with reporters in front of his locker, expressing frustration at the timing of this injury.

“I just don’t want to be off,” Kuminga said. “I want to be playing. I feel like our team had started taking off in the right direction.”

The three-week re-evaluation timetable rules Kuminga out through at least the home game against the Los Angeles Lakers on Jan. 25. That’s less than two weeks before the Feb. 6 trade deadline, when Kuminga (who will be a restricted free agent this summer) will go through another checkpoint in his career.

“I feel good (about my place with the Warriors),” Kuminga said. “You never know what’s going to happen, but I’m pretty confident this is where I’m at.”

The Warriors conclude their six-game homestand Tuesday night against a Miami Heat team in a spiral. Then their upcoming four-game trip matches them against the Detroit Pistons, Indiana Pacers, Toronto Raptors and Minnesota Timberwolves. They return home to face the Washington Wizards. This is a softer portion of the schedule. They’ll need to take advantage of it without Kuminga.

(Photo of  Steph Curry and Keon Ellis: Eakin Howard / Getty Images)





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About The Author

Avatar of Darlene Mendez
Darlene Mendez is a journalist with Prairie Island News. She has been writing for the paper for over 17 years and has won numerous awards for her stories on local government, education, and sports. Mendez enjoys spending time with her family and friends. She also loves watching sports and reading books.

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