SAN FRANCISCO — With Steph Curry and Draymond Green both wearing sweats on opposite ends of the bench Thursday night, the Warriors were going to need alternative scoring options in order to end their season-long losing streak and continue a series of historic successes against Houston. Rockets.
Inserted into the starting lineup for the sixth time this season, Jonathan Kuminga understood the mission.
An aggressive and efficient performance from the fourth-year wing helped the undermanned Warriors earn their first win in nearly two weeks, 99-93.
Kuminga contributed a game-high 33 points on 13-of-22 shooting – including 15 in the final period – with 23 points and nine rebounds from Andrew Wiggins as Golden State returned to the win column for the first time since November 22. , ending a streak of five consecutive defeats.
The Warriors (13-8) haven’t lost to the Rockets (15-8) since Feb. 20, 2020, extending their winning streak to 15 regular-season games, just short of the longest active streak against a opponent in the NBA. . They’ll have a chance to match the Knicks’ 16-game winning streak against the Pistons next week when the teams meet in Houston for the next round of the NBA Cup.
By then, the Warriors hope to have Curry (knee) and Green (calf) back in the lineup. Wearing a Golden State Valkyries jersey over his green sweats, Green missed his second straight game and Curry his second game in a few weeks due to lingering illnesses, but coach Steve Kerr said both could be back as soon as Friday against the Timberwolves.
Playing without their two stars for the first time this season, the Warriors quickly built a 15-point halftime advantage that they never relinquished, despite missing two-fifths of their closing lineup typical.
Houston pulled within 2, 87-85, prompting Kerr to call a timeout with 4:38 remaining, and Kuminga converted a tip-in on the next possession to stave off the comeback attempt. Gary Payton II intercepted a pass from Jalen Green with 1:07 left and set up a Euro-stepping Kuminga to put the game on ice.
Curry and Green both came out of their positions on the bench to crowd Kuminga after the Warriors called him one more time, clinging to a 3-point lead with less than a minute to play, and he took his defender off the dribble and converted at the rim to clinch the win.
Golden State improved to 24-39 all-time playing without Curry and Green.
The Warriors took a 49-43 advantage into halftime, thanks to 12 points in the second quarter by Wiggins, who converted his second 4-point play of the period to give Golden State its biggest advances from the middle of the first quarter until intermission.
Getting the nod in place of Green, Kuminga was aggressive and scored a team-high eight points on 3-of-7 shooting in the first quarter. Despite making just 7 of 22 shots from the field in the first quarter, the Warriors didn’t trail for the first time until the final minute of the period.
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