Jonathan Kuminga reflects on watching the Warriors' devastating loss from the bench – NBC Sports Bay Area & California

Jonathan Kuminga is arguably playing the best basketball of his young NBA career, but he wasn't surprised when Warriors coach Steve Kerr held him up for the entire fourth quarter during Golden State's 130-127 loss to the Denver Nuggets on Thursday at Chase Center left on the bench.

The way Kuminga sees it, it's been that way for him his entire time at Golden State. And with Kerr continuing to fiddle with his rotations, it was certainly no surprise that Kuminga spent the final 12 minutes of the game as a spectator rather than being on the court in crunch time.

“It's difficult. “Since I've been here, we don't just have five people that we know are supposed to be on the floor at all times when it's closing time,” Kuminga said. “It's a little, I don't know, how to put it, it's a bit strange. I've been here for three years now, I'm used to it. I'm never surprised when I see a change in the lineup at the end of the game or even during the game. It is a cultural thing.”

Kuminga scored 16 points, marking his 14th straight game in double figures. The last 11 of those came with Kuminga as the starter. He averaged 15.2 points per game during that span, nearly three points more than his 2023-24 season average. He shot better than 57 percent (82 of 143) during that period.

“I’m very proud of myself,” Kuminga said. “I have come so far and still have a lot to do. This is just the beginning of the journey where things are changing. Hopefully it will change even more.

“Every time I get a chance to go out on the pitch, whether I'm in the starting line-up or not, I try to go out there and make sure that next time they have me in the starting line-up, or you know when They need someone off the bench, if they need a player they could do something, I'm always there.”

Kuminga's career was full of ups and downs. Since replacing the suspended Draymond Green in Golden State's starting lineup, Kuminga has shown signs of being the top player the Warriors were hoping for when they selected him seventh overall in the 2021 NBA Draft.

Nevertheless, the 21-year-old was on the bench against the defending champion Nuggets when it mattered most.

Kerr said the decision not to play Kuminga was a combination of the fact that the Warriors were in control at the time and how long he had sat out.

“Normally it would have taken him about five to six minutes to get back on,” Kerr said. “[Andrew Wiggins] played great, we had the ball, we were up 18, 19, whatever it was. So we just stuck with it [the finishing group]. At the time, it didn't seem like the right thing to do. [Kuminga] I had been sitting there for a while so I stayed with the group that was out there and of course we couldn’t finish it.”

Through three quarters, Kuminga had put in another solid performance in a string of good games for the Warriors forward. He opened the game with a jumping dunk down the lane and later in the third quarter made a game-winning putback on a missed shot by Stephen Curry, giving the Warriors an 88-86 lead.

Also in the third quarter, Kuminga took Denver's Jamal Murray out of the game when he picked up his fourth foul and was benched for the final six minutes of the quarter. That opened the door for Golden State to go on a 26-10 run.

Kuminga's evening ended after that and he had to watch as the Warriors gave up the lead as the game went on.

“I really didn’t have much to say about it,” Kuminga said. “The rest of the boys played well, we had a lead, everyone was happy.

“There was no explanation. I just sat on the bench and cheered, just like another teammate. Celebrated because we were there. I really do not know it. I didn’t expect it at all, especially because of the way I played.”

Kerr will have another tough decision to make when Green returns from his indefinite NBA suspension. Reports circulated earlier in the day that Green would soon return to the squad rooms and work his way back, but Kerr told reporters he knew nothing about that.

Regardless, Kuminga's style of play forced the coach to take action. When Green returns, he may not get the minutes he's used to.

Some of them will likely go to Kuminga, who feels he is now better prepared for the starting role.

“When I look back, I had periods where I played well for two months,” Kuminga said. “But I feel like I'm even more confident and mature now and know what I need to do instead of just running around. Now I'm more balanced. I know many things. I know how people play me. I know how people play us.”

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