In the third quarter, Jonathan Kuminga made his on-court debut with 4 minutes and 45 seconds left. Steve Kerr, the coach, has a rich roster to divide up playing time among, so much so that he was left out of the pregame preparations for the Portland game.
Kuminga’s incredible play in the closing minutes was necessary for the Golden State Warriors to contend with the Trail Blazers’ youthful athleticism and mobility. Kerr made a smart decision there.
Wednesday night, the Warriors overcame Portland 110-106, led by a remarkable 13 points from Kuminga and 31 points from Stephen Curry, who had a slow start.
Kuminga proclaimed, “I am completely ready.”
With one minute and three seconds left, Kuminga dunks a gorgeous alley-oop pass from Draymond Green, making all six of his field goal attempts. Kuminga also got the ball from Toumani Camara with 29 seconds left, giving his team a 105-104 advantage and setting Curry up for a three-pointer.
He was outstanding and never allowed his game to deteriorate. Kerr gave the explanation that it is challenging to play with ten players when asked why Kuminga was not playing more frequently. We obviously needed his help. JK was necessary for the game, and we had to match Portland’s youthful vigor and dexterity.
With twenty-eight points, Anfernee Simons led the Trail Blazers. Shaedon Sharpe finished with 26 points, six rebounds, and five assists after missing a free throw with one minute and eighteen seconds remaining.
Five of the Warriors’ five long-range goals came from Curry, while the team as a whole only shot 10 for 34. Only 11 points on 3-for-13 shooting was all that The Splash Brother, Klay Thompson, could muster; of his eight attempts, only one was made from beyond the arc. With 4:49 left in the game, he had a great chance to equal the score but missed his layup, but at 1:59, he made a big shot.
Despite the fact that Chris Paul and Andrew Wiggins made their injury returns that evening, Portland scored 23 points off of 17 errors made by Golden State. Paul had missed the previous two games because of a contusion in his lower left leg’s neural system, while Wiggins had missed the two games against the Clippers because of pain in his right finger.
Kuminga’s steal and transition slam with three minutes and 37 seconds remaining in the third quarter allowed the Warriors to close the gap to 77-74. Dario Saric knotted the score with 86 minutes and 31 seconds left. At nine minutes and twenty-six seconds, he made a 3-point shot.
Kuminga asserts that “our job as young guys” is to carry out his actions outside. “We are the young guys, Energy; it is our responsibility to help the team.”
Camara pulled down 13 rebounds in the Blazers’ season-opening encounter against the Warriors, helping to wrap up a five-game road trip. This game was added to the schedule as a result of the teams’ elimination from the In-Season Tournament.
Green nearly recorded a triple-double with 10 points, ten rebounds, and nine assists. Prior to going cold, Green had made at least two 3-pointers in three straight games.
Scoot Henderson, a rookie from Portland, picked up his third foul early in the first quarter of his game against the Warriors. This was Henderson’s first experience with the Warriors; in the spring, before to the NBA draft, Curry had served as a mentor to Henderson and his family.
Golden State is playing very well right now. They have won their last three games and their last six at home vs Portland.
In addition to Thompson, Kevon Looney currently has the tenth-highest record for the team with 214 straight regular-season games played.