After 16 consecutive DNP-CDs, Jonathan Kuminga returned to the court Tuesday night and put up 20 points. The out-of-favor Buddy Hield made all six of his three-pointers on his way to 25 points. But the Golden State Warriors starters didn’t play any defense and the Toronto Raptors shot 21-for-34 on three-pointers in a 145-127 win.
The starting lineup seemed to be reeling without Jimmy Butler, who is out for the season with a torn ACL. Brandin Podziemski joined the starters in Butler’s place, and the team
replaced Quinten Post with Gui Santos to start the second half. Steph Curry missed his first five three-pointers. In the first quarter, the starters missed all seven of their threes and shot 6-for-17 overall while Toronto ran out to a 26-10 lead.
That lead would grow to 30 points midway through the third quarter, before Kuminga and Buddy Hield helped cut the lead to 108-94 with 12 minutes to play. Hield’s fifth three-pointer got the lead to single digits with five minutes to go, but the Raptors answered with back-to-back threes from Brandon Ingram (22 points 4-for-6 from deep) and Sandro Mamukelashvili (14 points, 4-for-4 on threes) that shut down the comeback.
Hield was +10 in 19 minutes, meaning the Warriors were -28 in the 29 minutes when he sat. Will Richard was +7 in his 23 minutes and Kuminga was +3, but the team simply couldn’t stop the Raptors scorching shooting. The Raptors scored 70 points in the first half, the highest total the Warriors have given up all season, then scored 75 in the second half.
The main culprit was Immanuel Quickley, who tied a career high with 40 points and made nearly every shot he took. Quickley was 11-for-13 from the field, 7-for-8 on three-pointers, and a perfect 11-for-11 from the foul line — all while dishing out 10 assists. Five of those dimes turned into three-pointers, meaning Quickley was involved in 12 of Toronto’s 21 threes — and three more turned into layups or dunks. He had three turnovers, but got two steals. It may have been one of the most efficient 40-point games in NBA history.
Scottie Barnes was nearly as efficient, shooting 12-for-18 and handing out 11 assists, while also making both his free throws. And Mamukelashvili, one of the best free agent bargains of the summer, finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds, along with four assists, two steals, and a block. He also showed off a sweet shot fake when the Warriors over-committed to stopping him behind the arc.
The loss ended the Warriors’ four-game win streak and a stretch where they went 12-4 in 16 games. But it also reignited the years-long debate about Jonathan Kuminga, who is either a victim of Steve Kerr, a victim of his agent, a future All-Star, an untradeable player, a waste of Steph Curry’s prime, or the player who’s about to spark the Warriors’ run to a Cinderella play-in tournament run.
Hield and Kuminga are the most common Warriors to see in trade rumors and they both demonstrated their usefulness. They could easily end up back in the starting lineup or back out of the rotation when the Warriors go on the road again, though Kerr called Hield “one of the most professional players I’ve ever coached.”
It’s hard to blame the team for coming out flat after the emotional devastation of the Butler injury. It’s impressive that Kuminga responded so well after his month on the bench and it’s somewhat stunning that Kerr managed to play 13 guys significant minutes and even got LJ Cryer and Malevy Leons some run.
It’ll be interesting to see what happens leading into the trade deadline and when the Warriors go on the road for the first time in two weeks. They have to hope it includes more three-point defense.
