Steph-less Warriors fall to .500 with loss to Clippers

But at least Jonathan Kuminga was good.

The Golden State Warriors free-fall continued on Friday night, though at least they had a little bit of an excuse this time. With Steph Curry getting a day of scheduled rest and Draymond Green also held out due to a back contusion, the Dubs were playing short-handed, and it showed against the LA Clippers, who jumped out to an early lead and mostly cruised to a 102-92 win.

In Curry and Green’s absence, Golden State’s veterans struggled to step up and make an impact. Dennis Schröder led the four veteran starters with a mere seven points, though he shot just 3-for-11 (including 0-for-6 from deep) and committed three turnovers. The other three veteran starters scored just five points apiece: Andrew Wiggins on 2-for-11 shooting, Buddy Hield on 2-for-8 shooting, and Kyle Anderson on 2-for-4 shooting. Only second-year pro Trayce Jackson-Davis, recently reinserted into the starting lineup, looked good among the opening five: the lefty scored 15 points with nine rebounds, two assists, and two blocks, and shot 7-for-12 from the field.

But while Jackson-Davis shined, the brightest member of Golden State’s roster was a different youngster: Jonathan Kuminga. Recently put back into the sixth man spark plug role, Kuminga was far and away the best player for the Warriors on Friday ... and arguably the best player for either team.

Kuminga was active and aggressive in every facet of the game, leading all scorers with 34 points while also hauling in 10 rebounds, dishing out five assists, and recording two steals and one block. He shot a hyper-efficient 11-for-19 from the field, and continued his recent run of repeatedly drawing contact (while also making his free throws), as he went 11-for-14 from the charity stripe. Unfortunately, his aggression was not met by his teammates ... Kuminga may have earned 14 free throws, but the rest of the Warriors shot just six, combined.

The rest of the bench was better than the starting unit, but still struggled. Kevon Looney and Lindy Waters III put up donuts in the points column, and while Brandin Podziemski and Moses Moody scored in double figures, neither was efficient (10 points on nine shots for the former; 11 points on 11 shots and two free throws for the latter).

As a team, the Warriors shot a miserably 18.4% from three-point range. Even though they forced 21 turnovers while committing just 14, there’s no getting over that kind of shooting night. Maybe if Curry had been healthy things would have been different, but Kuminga could only carry the team so far.

After starting the year 12-3, the Dubs have now tumbled all the way back to .500, at 15-15. They’ll get a chance to climb back above .500 — or dip below it for the first time this year — on Saturday night, when they host the Phoenix Suns at 5:30 p.m. PT. Curry and Green are expected to return for that game, Steve Kerr announced after Friday’s loss.