Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody combined to score 39 points on Tuesday to lead the short-handed Golden State Warriors to a comeback win over the San Antonio Spurs.
Without Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, the Warriors trailed by 15 points entering the fourth quarter. However, Kuminga scored 14 of his 19 total points in the final period as the Warriors outscored the Spurs 35-16 to pull out the 124-120 win.
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr liked the late-game effort by Kuminga.
I’m really proud of him because the last couple of games haven’t gone well for him. He stayed with it and was just a huge factor, particularly in that second half. He made some massive plays and some really good passes, which is really important. He draws so much attention that when he passes the ball, good things happen for us.
Down by one point, Jordan Poole missed a go-ahead 3-pointer with 26.6 seconds left. But Moody came up with a huge offensive rebound and the ball eventually made it back to Poole. This time, Poole drained the 3-pointer to put the Warriors up for good.
Poole led the way for the Warriors with 31 points, while Damion Lee had 21 points and Moody hit six 3-pointers to finish with a career-high 20 points. His six triples were one shy of the franchise rookie record set by Stephen Curry.
“I thought Moses, not just the shooting and the scoring, but diving on the floor late in the game, fighting for every loose ball and offensive rebound,” Kerr said. “Moses is a competitor and a winner and we’re lucky to have both of those young men.”
The performance by Moody came in his third start of the season and it was just his fourth game scoring in double figures. Kerr wanted to reward Moody with the spot start after some good recent practices and performances in the NBA G League.
Moody wanted to take advantage of the larger role.
It is an opportunity. I’ve been waiting patiently on it. I knew it’d come so that it is my time to shine, I’ve been preparing. When preparation meets opportunity, that’s when things happen.
The Warriors believe their two rookies can eventually develop into key rotational players in the future. They have shown in various stretches that they are capable of contributing and they once again proved that on Tuesday in a comeback win.
This post originally appeared on Rookie Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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