In a muddied win for the Warriors on Friday night, beating the lowly New Orleans Pelicans 111-95 at Smoothie King Center, they needed someone who could, well, get it out the mud.
Steph Curry’s return of course was vital, scoring 23 points in 34 minutes after missing the previous two games – two losses to teams with losing records – because of a pelvic contusion. His second-quarter barrage of 13 points and making three 3-pointers proved to be huge on a night where the rest of the Warriors combined to go 8 of 39 (20.5 percent) from deep. Those are the kinds of games the Warriors need someone to put their head down and get to the rim.
That’s where Jonathan Kuminga always has been the X-factor that can lift the Warriors or be a chess piece trying to fit a jigsaw puzzle.
Kuminga scored 16 points in 23 minutes, leading all reserves, going 5 of 9 from the field. His seven rebounds also were his most since missing over two months to a bad ankle injury.
“Jonathan was good,” Kerr said to reporters after the win. “He gives us the attack to the rim. He got to the foul line eight times, rebounded well, so I thought he had a good night.”
It was the way Kerr used Kuminga offensively that really stood out. Not by mistake, the Warriors coach took advantage of the way Kuminga and Curry can complement each other with their differing skill sets.
A little over a minute after entering the game for Jimmy Butler, Kuminga had his first bucket of the night. Curry took the inbounds pass from a made free throw, darted past his man to the left wing where Kuminga met him. There, Kuminga set a screen for Curry, making both defenders guard the sharpshooter, and immediately rolled to the hoop. Curry found him and after taking one dribble, Kuminga jump stopped off two feet for a left-handed layup.
He surveyed the defense, found his way to the paint and pulled up for a 10-foot floater for his first bucket of the second quarter. Kuminga’s next basket was an alley-oop layup finish off a pretty pass from Draymond Green, but it began with him again being a screener for Curry, making two guys follow Steph, leaving a lane for Kuminga to attack and for Green to hit him with a dime.
The next time, Curry was used as an inverted screener for Kuminga. Curry set a screen on Kelly Olynk, leaving Jordan Hawkins 1-on-1 with Kuminga, who powered his way to a layup. Kuminga’s final made shot came from him simply backing his man down and making a turnaround seven-foot jumper. All power, exactly what was required Friday night.
The Warriors needed Jonathan Kuminga’s power last night in a game where their 3-point shot was nowhere to be found. Using him as a screener with Steph Curry was really effective, too pic.twitter.com/rl0DkDVU4R
— Dalton Johnson (@DaltonJ_Johnson) March 29, 2025
“The dive to the rim when JK sets that ball screen for Steph puts a lot of ball pressure on the defense,” Kerr said. “That was really key tonight. The two of them connected for three or four of those, and that was helpful.”
All five of Kuminga’s made shots were within 10 feet. Both of his misses were 3-pointers. He also went 6 of 8 from the free-throw line, making his first six before missing his last two after banging knees with Yves Misssi in the fourth quarter.
“He’s a force when he gets in the paint and gets a mismatch or gets downhill,” Curry said. “If I can create some attention, get him in the pocket – he’s really gotten better at seeing the angle and the lane if he doesn’t have anything and getting off of it. And it’s something we need to utilize depending on matchups. I can get going off his pick and roll, or I can get him in the pocket with an advantage and he can take over.”
Additionally, Kuminga also had three impressive assists. Just two minutes into his first stint he split the defense with a perfectly placed bounce pass, leading to a Quinten Post dunk. Kuminga also led Curry free for a fastbreak layup and later found Post at the top of the arc for three points.
While his 95 defensive rating for the game was tied for a team-best alongside Green, the eye test didn’t show Kuminga having as big of an impact there as the Warriors would like, especially with Gary Payton II out to a thumb injury. But the positives can’t be ignored.
Kuminga still hasn’t fit next to Butler. He’s still a weapon with Curry.
The playoffs can come down to power-on-power at times, and nobody is more of a wick waiting to be ignited and explode than Kuminga. Kerr doesn’t have to cater to him, but getting Kuminga in rhythm and finding the best ways to use him in the final two weeks of the regular season can be the special sauce of pushing the Warriors over the top.
