Warriors claim unusual win in Brooklyn behind more dominance from third-year forward

It may not have reflected the beautiful basketball of years past, but it was effective nonetheless as the Golden State Warriors responded from an overtime loss to Atlanta with a much-needed 109-98 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Monday.

The Warriors, known for reinventing the NBA with their three-point shooting over the last decade, went just 4-of-22 from three-point range in a scrappy affair at Barclays Center. Only Stephen Curry made a three-point field-goal on the night, with Golden State needing to find a different avenue to combat their shooting struggles.

That they did, finishing with a season-high 72 paint points that proved pivotal in allowing them to pull away from the hosts after a tight struggle through the first three-quarters. Front and center to that was Jonathan Kuminga who, after a quieter game against the Hawks on Saturday, returned to his recent dominance with 28 points on 50% shooting.

Jonathan Kuminga led the way with a 28-point, 10-rebound double-double in the Golden State Warriors' 11-point win over the Brooklyn Nets

The tandem of Kuminga and Curry continues to be the dual-engine of the Golden State offense, with the two-time MVP going for a game-high 29 points on 12-of-24 shooting from the floor and 4-of-11 from beyond the arc.

Curry and Kuminga combined for 21 of the Warriors' 34 points in the fourth-quarter, allowing the visitors to win the period by six despite a brief hot stretch for Brooklyn forward Royce O'Neale who drilled five threes in a five-minute period.

Outside of O'Neale's cameo, the Golden State defense was as good as it's been for the entirety of the season. They kept the Nets to 38.2% shooting from the floor and 31% from three-point range, while Cam Thomas was kept to 4-of-21 shooting after 41 points against the Warriors in their first meeting in December.

Brandin Podziemski provided the third foil offensively, recording his third-straight double-double with 15 points, 11 rebounds and three assists in nearly 38 minutes as a starter in place of the injured Andrew Wiggins.

Wiggins' absence also meant more playing time for young forward Gui Santos, with the 21-year-old Brazilian finishing with a career-high nine points and five rebounds in nearly 18 minutes off the bench.

Santos notably closed the game over Klay Thompson who struggled again after a 4-of-19 shooting performance against Atlanta. The veteran shooting-guard had only eight points, though was evidently more patient in taking just nine field-goal attempts.

Draymond Green continued to do a little bit of everything as Golden State's small-ball five, tallying eight points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and two steals in just over 30 minutes. Third-year wing Moses Moody played just over 15 minutes in his return from a calf strain, but was rather quiet in recording just four points, one rebound and a block.

The Warriors now move to a 22-25 record as they pass the halfway mark of their five-game road-trip. Next up is a meeting with the 76ers in Philadelphia who will be without Joel Embiid after the reigning MVP was injured in the teams' initial meeting last week.