Jonathan Kuminga leads Warriors past Suns for much-needed win

SAN FRANCISCO — One night after playing what Steve Kerr thought was his best game as a pro, Jonathan Kuminga one-upped himself.

Kuminga matched his career high with 34 points and spent the fourth quarter hounding Kevin Durant on defense.

In a tie game with two minutes left, the Warriors executed. Dennis Schroder, who struggled most of the night, nailed his first big shot as a Warrior — a go-ahead 30 footer. Then he tapped the ball out of Kevin Durant’s hands for a turnover.

Kuminga drilled two foul shots to retake a one-point lead with 29 seconds left and the Warriors got one last stop. After Schroder foul shots, Kuminga sealed the game with a contested defensive rebound and free throw.

Kuminga scored 13 of his 34 points in the fourth quarter, shooting 12-for-20 overall (plus 8-for-12 from the foul line). He out-dueled Durant (31 points, eight turnovers) and dragged the Warriors (16-15) over the top for a much-needed win.

In the battle of aging .500 Western Conference teams, the Warriors outlasted Phoenix, 109-105. Kuminga, Trayce Jackson-Davis (16 points, 10 rebounds) and Draymond Green (16 first-half points) helped the Warriors close on an 8-2 run.

Kerr spent a chunk of his pregame press conference talking about figuring out how to get Kuminga to play like he did on Friday night in games with Steph Curry and Draymond Green.  It was a main topic of his coaches meeting and hits at arguably the central question of the franchise: How much can Kuminga help now and how much better can he get in the future?

Against the Lakers and earlier this season against Houston when Curry and Green sat, Kuminga had his two best games. Bottling that type of force alongside the Warriors’ tentpoles, rather than independent of them, can get the Warriors back on track.

“I have no doubt he’s going to get there,” Kerr said. “He works hard, he’s talented, he wants it. It’s just nothing more than experience and feeling all this stuff. It doesn’t happen right away.”

Halfway through the first quarter, Kuminga entered in a small-ball lineup with Green at center. On cue, the mix looked as lethal as it has all season.

Kuminga got downhill against a mismatch — created by an inverted screen — for a layup. Curry found him on a drive-and-kick for a corner 3. Then Curry and Green ran a pick-and-roll, ending with Kuminga cutting from the baseline for the patented Golden State alley-oop out of the short roll.

Upon Kuminga’s entrance, the Warriors went on a 10-1 run. Kuminga scored 10 points in his first five minutes and finished with 12 in the first period.

The Warriors lost their momentum with six quick turnovers to start the second quarter — after giving just one away in the first — but regained their footing when they went small again, with Green at center and Kuminga next to him.

Curry scored 15 points in the first half, including a magical buzzer-beater in which he went around the world and flung up a 17-foot floater while fading to his left.

Durant and the Suns tried to slow the game down from its hellacious pace, but the Warriors turned Phoenix over to get out on the break. Kuminga fed Schroder for a fast-break layup and then later flexed after bowling over Bradley Beal in the post for a bucket.

When the Warriors gave Kuminga all the car keys, sitting both Green and Curry to close the quarter, the Suns went on an 11-3 run. The lineup of Kuminga, Schroder, Buddy Hield, Lindy Waters III and Jackson-Davis clearly failed on both ends. The Warriors would’ve had Brandin Podziemski out there, but he strained his lower abdominal muscle.

Needing a lift in the fourth, Kuminga stepped up. On back-to-back defensive possessions, he stood his ground in isolation against Durant. And on the other end both times, he finished at the rim.

That combination cut Phoenix’s lead to 100-95 with 5:22 left.

With Kuminga face-guarding Durant and the Warriors playing help defense behind him any time he caught it, they took the Suns out of their go-to offense.

Curry hit a floater in the lane, then Schroder finally got to the cup for a layup. Kuminga stripped Durant again and got to the line to give the Warriors a 101-100 lead with 3:28 left.

Curry had a pair of good looks with under a minute left to earn some breathing room, but he misfired on a 3 and was too strong on a runner. After two Durant free throws, Kerr called timeout to draw up a play with 29.9 seconds, down one. It worked, with Kuminga earning foul shots.

Just about everything worked for Kuminga, who matched the career-high mark he set a night prior.