Jonathan Kuminga Struggles as Hawks Beat Warriors

Jonathan Kuminga faced his former Golden State teammates for the first time as an Atlanta Hawk in a 126-110 Hawks victory. Kuminga struggled, scoring two points on 1-of-9 shooting in 22 minutes, while Atlanta broke the game open with a 39-20 third quarter led by Dyson Daniels (28 points) and CJ McCollum (23). Kuminga was part of the Feb. 4 trade that sent him and Buddy Hield to Atlanta for Kristaps Porziņģis, and his Hawks averages before the game were a promising 14.8 points and 7.5 rebounds. Merlin sees a single bad box score, not a verdict. Steve Kerr said, "I like Jonathan. We always got along well," and noted Golden State could not give Kuminga the workload he needed. In Atlanta he can earn mistakes, minutes and growth. Consistency will decide if he becomes a true rotation pillar or a streaky role player.