What we learned as Kuminga scores 28 in overtime win vs. Kings

What we learned as Kuminga scores 28 in overtime win vs. Kings originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SACRAMENTO – Without Steph Curry and Chris Paul, the Warriors looked like a team out of sorts early Sunday night against the Sacramento Kings. The Warriors trailed by as many as 15 points in the first quarter and were down by 13 going into the second, but rallied back and had the game all tied up going into the fourth quarter.

The game remained tied after regulation, too.

Golden State’s youngsters held strong, coming away with a 121-115 overtime win at Golden 1 Center.

Jonathan Kuminga’s 28 points led the Warriors for the third straight preseason game, and he now is averaging 26 points in the exhibition circuit. Andrew Wiggins scored 20 points in only 22 minutes and Klay Thompson added 12 in 17 minutes. Thompson didn’t play past the second quarter.

Lester Quinones (18 points) and Moses Moody (16 points) combined to score 34 points off the bench.

Here are three takeaways from the Warriors’ third straight preseason win.

Wiggins Gets Going

Wiggins in his first two games of this year’s preseason slate combined to score 15 points, putting up six in the opener and nine in Friday night’s win against the Los Angeles Lakers. By halftime Sunday in Sacramento, Wiggins already was up to 13 points and kept going.

It didn’t look like Wiggins was in for a big night from the jump. He scored only three points in the first quarter on 1-of-4 shooting before the small forward began heating up. Wiggins scored 10 points in the second quarter as the Warriors outscored the Kings 31-21 in the frame to take a big chunk out of their deficit.

Wiggins quickly scored another seven points in the third quarter before his night came to an end. In a variety of ways, Wiggins wound up dropping 20 points, going 6 of 11 from the field, 3 of 5 behind the 3-point line and 5 of 7 at the free-throw line.

An aggressive Wiggins is something Steve Kerr always is looking for, and that’s who showed up in Sacramento.

Charity Stripe Kuminga

Kuminga for the third straight game found ways to rack up points. However, his 26-point performance was much less efficient than what he produced through his first two games. Kuminga entered the night shooting 65.4 percent from the field (17 of 26) and 53.8 percent from 3-point range (7 of 13). Those numbers took a dip.

Overall, Kuminga shot 7 of 18 and made only one of his four 3-point attempts. So, how did he lead the Warriors in scoring for the third straight game? The free-throw line.

Whenever and however he wanted, Kuminga made his way to the charity stripe. Kuminga attempted 17 free throws and made 13. Through the first two preseason games, he had attempted 12 free throws.

Kuminga in three preseason games now is shooting 75.9 percent (22 of 29) at the free-throw line. He shot 68.4 percent as a rookie and 65.2 last season. His improvements there can go a long way.

Lack of Ballhandlers

No Curry, no Paul, no Draymond Green and no Cory Joseph. That’s a lot of assists and a lot of basketball IQ taken away from a team, and it was evident. The Warriors dished out a lowly six assists in the first quarter. On the other side, Kings star point guard De’Aaron Fox had four assists alone in the opening quarter.

The Warriors finished the night with only 18 assists and 13 turnovers. Though their 13 turnovers were two fewer than the Kings, Sacramento scored 21 points off the Warriors’ blunders.

Brandin Podziemski and Quinones led the Warriors with four assists each.

This was a test for Kerr’s squad from the jump, and should serve as a learning tool at the very least.

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