Just as Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga was finding a groove, he found himself back on the bench, this time because of knee soreness that he experienced after twisting his ankle on a second-quarter drive Thursday night against the Dallas Mavericks.
More specifically, Kuminga is dealing with a minor knee hyperextension,according to ESPN's Anthony Slater, who reported that the injury isn't believed to be serious.
Kuminga's setback occurred in the Warriors' second gamesince losing six-time All-Star Jimmy Butler III for the season because of a torn ACL.
Butler's absence opened the door for Kuminga to play again. Kuminga, whom the Warriors selected No. 7 overall in the 2021 draft,endured a contract dispute this offseason. Thenhe requested a trade last weekafter being relegated to the Warriors' bench.
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But now, after 16 straight DNPs, Kuminga's firmly back in the rotation. He went for 20 points in 21 minutes Tuesday in a loss to the Toronto Raptors and was following up that performance with another head-turning outing versus the Mavericks.
Kuminga checked in with 5:04 to go in the first quarter and immediately ignited an 8-0 Warriors run that he fueled with a pair of and-1s, the first on a jumper and the next on a layup.
That flurry of points gave Golden State a lead. Steve Kerr's group recovered after missing its first six shots. It took nearly six minutes for a Warriors player not named Stephen Curry to put the ball through the net.
In fact, Curry converted three of his first four field-goal attempts — all three makes were from deep, including a 28-footer — while his teammates began the night 0 of 8 from the field.
This story is being updated.
