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DALLAS – Jonathan Kuminga’s return to the Warriors rotation might have been cut short after just two games.
During a timeout, the Warriors’ forward walked back to the locker room with team athletic trainer Drew Yoder with 3:52 left in the second quarter of the Warriors’ 123-115 loss to the host Mavericks on Thursday night.
At the 4:28 mark, Kuminga appeared to roll his left ankle and buckle his knee on a fastbreak layup that led to a foul on Brandon Williams. Kuminga briefly sat down in a courtside chair on the baseline before getting up and walking to the free throw line.
He shot two free throws, and then played the next three possessions before being subbed out. Kuminga then walked back to the locker room under his own power.
The Warriors later diagnosed Kuminga with left knee soreness, and said he would not return.
“I just talked to Jonathan, and he said he’ll get an MRI tomorrow,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “It was both the knee and the ankle, and we’ll see how bad it is.”
The Warriors later said that Kuminga had not yet decided whether or not he would get an MRI.
Kuminga, 23, had requested a trade earlier in the month and was presumed to be out of the rotation entirely after not playing in 16 consecutive games.
He had begun the year as a starter, being a part of the first five during the team’s initial 12 games after signing a two-year deal and ending his restricted free agency. But a combination of poor play and middling team results led to Kerr removing Kuminga from the starting lineup.
Kuminga then saw a combination of injuries and uneven performances lead to lessened playing time before eventually falling out of the rotation altogether.
However, after Jimmy Butler tore his ACL against the Heat on Monday, Kuminga suddenly found himself back in the team’s immediate plans.
He responded by scoring 20 points in 21 minutes against Toronto on Tuesday’s loss to the Raptors.
Before exiting the Mavericks game, Kuminga had scored 10 points in nine minutes and made all three of his shot attempts and each of his four free throws, and was a stellar plus-18 in his short stint.
But after Kuminga went back to the locker room, he was not among the players who warmed up after the halftime break. The Warriors ruled him out shortly afterwards.
Missing their two best scoring wings, the burden fell on the guards to carry the offense. Fortunately for the Warriors, the team received a vintage Steph Curry performance to keep them in the game.
The soon-to-be 38-year old torched the Mavericks to the tune of 38 points, making 8 of 15 3-point field goals. De’Anthony Melton provided a more athletic complement to Curry’s long-range showmanship, scoring 22 in 23 minutes.
But with the team trailing just 102-101 with 6:49 left fourth quarter, Draymond Green was called for a flagrant foul when he elbowed Stanford alum Dwight Powell as the Maverick big man was cutting to the rim. A few seconds later, Green was reviewed for another flagrant after a hard foul on Max Christie, but it was ruled a normal foul.
“It wasn’t his night, and he’d be the first to tell you,” Kerr said.
The stoppages helped the Mavericks gain momentum, leading to a 11-0 run over the next two minutes to help Dallas pull away. Green fouled out with 3:50 left after contesting a shot by Williams. Naji Marshall led the Mavericks with 30 points, while Bay Area legend Klay Thompson scored six points.
The Mavericks outrebounded the Warriors 54-35.
The Warriors (25-21), now on a two-game losing streak, will travel to Minneapolis to play the first of a two-game baseball-style series with the Wolves on Saturday.
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Joseph Dycus
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