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SAN FRANCISCO — As fans throughout the Chase Center streamed the 49ers’ playoff victory over the Dallas Cowboys on their phones and cheered the final score, the Warriors watched the win slip out of their hands on Sunday night.
After leading by 12 points at halftime, the Warriors won 60-44 in the second half before losing 120-116 to the Brooklyn Nets.
Stephen Curry led the Warriors with 26 points, 7 assists and 6 rebounds. He didn’t get enough help. Klay Thompson, Jordan Poole and Andrew Wiggins all struggled hard.
Without the Warriors’ bench, this loss would have been well over four points.
The Warriors have dominated at home for most of the season. Not recently. They are now on a four-game losing streak in front of home fans and will face the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday in San Francisco.
Here are three takeaways from frustrating losses.
bench mob
With the Warriors star available again, Steve Kerr decided to start a smaller pool in place of Kevon Looney. The starting units of Curry, Poole, Thompson, Wiggins and Green weren’t clicking all cylinders exactly. Luckily for Kerr and the Warriors, the bench kept them in the game.
In the first half alone, the four bench players combined for 35 points, going 13-for-18 from the field and 5-for-6 on three-pointers. Overall, the bench scored 50 points and went 19-for-30 from the field.
All four bench players were also positive/negative. Poole was minus 13 as a starter and Looney was a team-high plus 14 while grabbing 10 rebounds.In his two games off the bench this season, he’s tallied his 22 rebounds.
The Warriors’ small ball starting fives were minus 13 combined. The bench average was plus 11.5. It was the story of two groups, and the result was defeat.
Cuminga mature
Everything was slowing down for Kuminga before he missed eight games in a row with a right leg sprain. The game became easier for him and fun to watch. In his four games before the injury, in all wins, Cuminga averaged 9.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 9.3 plus/minus.
This is the player who showed up at the Chase Center on Sunday night. In his last two games, Kuminga has won with the Warriors.
He was plus eight with 10 points, 5 assists and 3 rebounds in the Warriors’ unlikely victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers. Against the Nets, Cuminga scored his 20 points off the bench and was plus 13.
Early in the second quarter, Kuminga scored on three possessions in a row. Those points came from his two straight layups and his one dunk. See what weapons he’s up to in the open court for a pick-and-roll option.
Kuminga had 15 shots that night, but only two went outside the paint. he missed both. Within the paint, he was 13 for his 9. The 20-year-old is getting smarter with each match.
Where’s Wiggins?
Kuminga played a big role off the bench, but Wiggins was nowhere to be found. Jeez. He also played very little in the fourth quarter.
And rightly so.
Wiggins played 27 minutes and scored just 4 points. This is his lowest since he scored three points on February 28, 2021 in Los Angeles against the Lakers. It is also the fifth time in his career that he has scored under five points.
He went 2-for-9 from the field, missing all three of his three-point attempts and had only two rebounds.Wiggins’ performance was forgettable, but it also raises some concerns.
RELATED: Kerr theorizes why Poole plays better in the starting lineup
Wiggins has been doing well since returning from a 15-game absence that included a right adductor strain and two ailments. Aside from a strong third quarter when the Warriors lost to Boston his Celtics in overtime, Wiggins hasn’t found his shot. He looked like an All-Star before he went off the sideline and Kerr can’t get to him now.
There’s still time, plenty. But the Warriors have to find the Wiggins they know, who signed him to a four-year contract extension in the offseason.
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