Watch: Jonathan Kuminga dunks on Jayson Tatum
Jonathan Kuminga had a tough assignment matching up with Jayson Tatum Saturday night. He also had persistence.
The Warriors' 20-year-old forward had the unenviable assignment of checking Tatum, the league's MVP favorite, for long stretches of time. He also had to deal with Tatum's excellent defense on the other end. But on one huge fourth-quarter play, Kuminga didn't give up when Tatum knocked the ball away from him. He gathered it, rose up, and dunked on the Celtics star.
Kuminga consistently stayed in front of Tatum, forced turnovers, drew fouls, and moved the ball. He finished with 14 points, nearly equal to Tatum's 18, in another rough shooting performance against the Warriors. Tatum shot 6-21 and an uncharacteristic 4-7 from the free throw line, echoing his performance in the 2022 Finals, when he went 36.7 percent from the field and 65.6 percent from the line.
In the Finals, much of the credit for shutting down Tatum went to Andrew Wiggins. But Wiggins missed Saturday's game with an adductor strain, which meant the Warriors called upon Kuminga and Klay Thompson to take the defensive assignment on Tatum (with some help from Kevon Looney). Despite this year's defensive challenges - Golden State is giving up the 5th-most points in the league - they stopped the high-powered Celtics offense Saturday.
It's only one game, and the Warriors had the advantage of a well-rested Draymond Green and Steph Curry, who hadn't played since Monday. Still, it shows that even at 13-12, the Warriors are more than a match for the team with the league's best record.
It also helps that Curry and Thompson combined for 66 points and ten three-pointers, some from very deep. At the end of the first quarter, Curry launched from 32 feet away and was so confident that he turned around to celebrate before it went in.
If only we all had such confidence at our jobs.
Curry and Thompson have been great for years, but the Warriors' return to the Finals is going to depend on the development of their young supporting cast. For one night at least, Jonathan Kuminga showed he's ready for big games.
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