SAN FRANCISCO — The numbers which may outline the course of the Warriors could be straightforward as one, two, three. And so they don’t have anything to do with two or three-pointers.
Jonathan Kuminga left Saturday evening’s recreation with a proper ankle sprain. If it’s a Grade 1 pressure, he’ll be again on the court docket very quickly. If it’s Grade 2, returning earlier than January’s over would possibly turn into questionable. A worst-case state of affairs Grade 3 excessive ankle sprain would put his season in jeopardy.
The Warriors gained’t instantly understand how extreme Kuminga’s damage is, however probably the most encouraging signal is that he didn’t want help whereas hopping off the court docket and into the coach’s room after rolling his ankle.
The Warriors needed to make use of the subsequent few weeks to see how their present group — and trimmed rotation — would take care of a tumultuous begin to the season. They began 12-3 however fell all the way in which to .500 on the finish of December.
Now, if Kuminga’s sprained ankle sidelines him for a big portion of January, gauging the roster will likely be considerably extra difficult.
The analysis interval continued Saturday, with the Warriors avenging their 51-point defeat to Memphis with a 121-113 victory at Chase Heart. Golden State made 23 of 43 3-pointers — with six gamers making a minimum of three — and compelled 23 turnovers.
Dennis Schroder (17 factors, 9 assists) had his greatest recreation as a Warrior and Andrew Wiggins scored 18 of his 24 factors in a key third-quarter stretch. Golden State made 14 extra 3s than Memphis to beat a large rebounding deficit (43 to 29).
Neither Steph Curry nor Ja Morant suited up, however every crew performed with ardour. The sport included three technical fouls and a flagrant. The Warriors at the moment are 5-2 in video games with out Curry this season.
The Warriors hit their first 4 3-pointers and began 8-for-14 from behind the arc. Their first two-point bucket got here virtually 11 minutes into the sport on a Jonathan Kuminga left-handed drive.
Regardless of the recent taking pictures and an early 12-2 lead, the Warriors by no means created actual separation.
Pat Spencer — taking part in as a result of Steph Curry and Brandin Podziemski had been unavailable — guarded his brother, Cam, and hit a one-legged teardrop with one second left within the quarter. However Jake LaRavia rattled residence a half-court buzzer beater to shut a 30-29 body.
Lindy Waters III then scored eight unanswered factors. The Warriors held the Grizzlies scoreless for the primary three minutes of the second quarter, deflecting passes and slicing off driving lanes. The Warriors stretched their result in 11, however Memphis responded with an 18-6 run to drag forward.
With 2:27 left within the half, Kuminga hobbled to the locker room. He’d simply hit his third 3-pointer of the evening and tried to contest a shot within the paint, however landed in a crowded sea of legs.
The previous two weeks have been Kuminga’s greatest stretch of his profession. Over his final six video games coming into Saturday evening, he averaged 24.3 factors and eight rebounds. He performed nicely each with and with out the ball, and on each ends of the court docket, main to go coach Steve Kerr repeatedly describing the span as a “breakthrough.”
Kuminga obtained dominated out for the remainder of the sport at halftime and completed with 13 factors and 4 turnovers.
With out Kuminga, Andrew Wiggins stepped up. After scoring two factors within the first half, Wiggins poured in 18 factors within the third quarter by hitting six straight photographs — together with two 3s. Buddy Hield additionally chipped in, breaking his hunch by making 4 of his seven triples.
Draymond Inexperienced began the fourth quarter with a tough foul on Zach Edey that obtained upgraded to a flagrant. The 2 have historical past, with Inexperienced calling the rookie middle “soft” on his podcast earlier this 12 months.
The subsequent defensive possession, after nailing a 3, Inexperienced instantly picked up a technical foul. It was a chippy, tightly contested recreation, as so many matchups between the Warriors and Grizzlies have been.
Schroder slashed inside for a troublesome and-1 end, however obtained slapped with a technical for taunting his sufferer on the bottom.
Main by 5 with 2:25 left, Waters sank a catch-and-shoot 3 — his fourth of the evening. Then Wiggins skied for a one-handed slam, icing the sport with a minute left.
Inexperienced raised each fingers and waved goodbye to the Grizzlies’ bench. After getting embarrassed in Memphis earlier this 12 months, the Warriors had a solution.
Initially Printed: January 4, 2025 at 8:01 PM PST
