SAN FRANCISCO —Golden State Warriorsforward Jonathan Kuminga finally was called off the bench and into action during a145-127loss to theToronto Raptorsat Chase Center on Tuesday night.
On the second night of a back-to-back — with theWarriorsnow having to go forward without Jimmy Butler, whosuffered a season-ending ACL tear Monday night— head coach Steve Kerr said he would look more toward his bench depth, including Kuminga who hadn't played in 16 games due to a coach's decision.
Kuminga received a roar from the Chase Center crowd when he subbed into the game to start the second quarter of the contest.
He finished with 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting in 21 minutes. He added five rebounds and two assists. Teammate Buddy Hield led the team in scoring with 25 points off then bench, including a perfect 6-of-6 from deep, in 19 minutes of play.
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How did Jonathan Kuminga play?
The Warriors were down 41-28 after the first quarter before Kuminga was subbed into the game to start the second period.
In his first stint, a little under five minutes, Kuminga missed his only shot attempt: An alley-oop tip-in on a pass from Draymond Green. He was fouled but missed both free throws. He managed to grab two rebounds in his limited action.
His plus/minus was a minus-10 in four minutes and 39 seconds of playing time.
Golden State is looking for a spark from their bench depth after Butler was lost for the season with a torn ACL.
Kerr saidthe Warriors' winover theMiami Heatthat Kuminga could see the floor following Butler's devastating injury.
"Sure, absolutely," Kerr said responding to a question about Kuminga playing against Toronto.
Warriors trailed 91-63 when Kuminga returned to the game at the 6:12 mark of the third quarter.
He scored 12 points in the period, throwing down a ferocious two-handed slam off an alley-oop pass from Green, a couple of mid-range shots through contact and going the length of the court to make a buzzer-beating layup to end the third.
Golden State trailed 108-94 at the end of three quarters. Kuminga played the remainder of the quarter since subbing in at the 6:12 mark and was a plus-4 after the period.
Kuminga played the entire fourth quarter as his play continued to help the Warriors to cut into that huge double-digit deficit. It was cut to as low as 11 points.
However, the Raptors ran the score back up late and held on to win the game.
Jonathan Kuminga 2025-26 regular-season stats
Here are Kuminga's average statistics so far though the 2025-26 regular season, prior to Tuesday's game against the Raptors:
Games played: 18
Minutes: 24.8
Points: 11.8
Rebounds: 6.2
Assists: 2.6
Steals: 0.3
Blocks: 0.3
Field goal %: .431
3-point field goal %: .320
Free throw %: .741
Jonathan Kuminga career stats
These are Kuminga's career averages through five seasons in the NBA, prior to Tuesday's game against the Raptors:
Games played: 276
Minutes: 22.2
Points: 12.5
Rebounds: 4.2
Assists: 1.8
Steals: 0.6
Blocks: 0.4
Field goal %: .502
3-point field goal %: .331
Free throw %: .699
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Jonathan Kuminga returns to court in Warriors' loss to Raptors
