What we learned as Kuminga fuels the Warriors’ comeback win over the Suns originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

BOX score

SAN FRANCISCO – A star was born in the Bay, or at least that was the story from the last two Warriors games.

Jonathan Kuminga’s rise has reached the NBA All-Star potential the Warriors dreamed of when they selected him with the seventh pick in the 2021 draft. Kuminga’s two free throws with 29 seconds left gave the Warriors a one-point lead and ultimately led to their 109-105 win over the Phoenix Suns on Saturday at Chase Center.

With the win, the Warriors ended a three-game losing streak and are back over .500 at 16-15 in the 2024-25 NBA season.

Kuminga scored a game-high 34 points, matching his career high from the previous evening. The 22-year-old forward was unstoppable on the sidelines, shooting 12 of 20 from the field and was 8 of 12 at the free throw line. His sensational performance made him the first Warriors player since Cazzie Russell in 1974 to have consecutive 30-point games off the bench.

Kuminga also had nine rebounds, falling one rebound shy of his second straight double-double.

Steph Curry was second to Kuminga, scoring 22 points along with six rebounds and six assists. The Warriors superstar posted a game-high plus-20 in 35 minutes.

Here are three takeaways from the Warriors’ big comeback win in front of their home crowd.

What no Nurkić Meant

After being in the middle of the closest thing to a real NBA fight the night before, Suns starting center Jusuf Nurkić served his three-game suspension Saturday night, meaning he wasn’t on the court against the Warriors would be. This has also changed positively for coach Steve Kerr’s combinations.

That became clear after the first timeout of the game. Buddy Hield and Kuminga came in and pushed Dennis Schröder and Trayce Jackson-Davis to the bench. With Nurkić unavailable, Kerr was able to use Draymond Green more often in the middle, positioning him alongside Kuminga in the frontcourt. In just under three minutes, the group of Curry, Hield, Andrew Wiggins, Kuminga and Green were plus-9 and outscored the Suns 12-3.

Kerr used seven combinations with Green at center and Kuminga playing power forward; five had a positive plus/minus and only one was negative. Kuminga was able to attack downhill for the second consecutive game and was a force to be reckoned with.

Additionally, Jackson-Davis continued to be very influential, finishing the game with a double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds and tying his career high with four blocks. The second-year pro has flipped a switch and become the breakout figure he was toward the end of last season when he entered the starting lineup.

Draymond finds his offense

One of the better success stories earlier this season when the Warriors were on a roll was that Green was a scoring option, particularly from 3-point range. But he has cooled down significantly recently.

After scoring 21 points and going 5 of 9 from three-point range against the Dallas Mavericks on December 15, Green entered the night having scored a total of seven points and just two of his 11 3-point attempts over the last three games had made. Maybe a night off was just what he needed.

Green sat out the first night of a back-to-back Warriors loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, but he found his shot in the second quarter Saturday night. In the second quarter alone, Green scored 14 points and went a perfect 3 of 3 from behind the 3-point line. That gave him 16 points at halftime, his most points this season.

Although Green didn’t score again in the second half, his 16 points in the first half kept the Warriors in the game. He also had eight rebounds and seven assists.

Another dud from this trio

In the Warriors’ loss to the Clippers on Friday night without Curry and Green, Hield, Schröder and Andrew Wiggins laid an egg offensively. Schröder scored seven points, Hield and Wiggins added five each. Overall, the trio in the starting lineup scored a combined 17 points on 7 of 30 shots (23.3 percent) and 2 of 15 points on three-pointers (13.3 percent).

Somehow they were just as bad the next night.

Hield took seven shots, all 3-pointers, and missed all seven. It was his first scoreless night of the season. Wiggins had seven points on poor 3-of-12 shooting and was 1 of 6 on 3-pointers. Schröder’s 11 points were his second double-digit score in his sixth game as a Warrior, going 4 of 13 from the field and 1 of 7 from long range.

However, Schröder saved his best until the end, scoring seven points in the fourth quarter. His 3-pointer at the 1:23 mark of the fourth quarter gave the Warriors a 104-103 lead after he missed his first six attempts from 3-point range.

This could be just the shot Schröder needs to find his groove in a Warriors jersey.

Download and follow the Dubs Talk Podcast