Golden State Warriors center Trayce Jackson-Davis has responded positively to his move to the G League on Sunday, impressing in Santa Cruz's 118-107 win over the Mexico City Capitanes at Chase Center.
Jackson-Davis was part of a much stronger Santa Cruz squad who had entered on a five-game losing-streak, with the second-year big man playing alongside Pat Spencer and two-way contracted pair Braxton Key and Taran Armstrong.
Trayce Jackson-Davis got some much needed playing time on Sunday
The 24-year-old played a team-high 35 minutes against the Capitanes -- which is more than what he's played in Golden State's last 19 games combined. Jackson-Davis took advantage of the opportunity with a big performance, recording 22 points on 11-of-15 shooting from the floor to go with eight rebounds, two assists, a steal and three blocks while finishing as a game-high +26 in the 11-point win.
After Steve Kerr claimed he'd wager that Jackson-Davis will return to the Warrior rotation at some point before the end of the season, it will now be interesting to see whether Sunday's performance was enough for him to warrant minutes going forward. It's expected that this was a one-off G League appearance and that Jackson-Davis will return to Golden State and be available for Monday's game against the Portland Trail Blazers.
Trayce Jackson-Davis with the steal + the hammer! 😤
— NBA G League (@nbagleague) March 9, 2025
The @warriors draftee has 6 points for the @GLeagueWarriors on @TheRokuChannel. pic.twitter.com/lXGKA88jgs
There were more positives elsewhere for the Warriors who were led by Spencer's 25 points on 7-of-16 shooting. The 28-year-old, who was converted to a standard contract earlier in the week, also had five rebounds, seven assists and two steals in 33 minutes.
After a pair of massive performances against the Wisconsin Herd, Key again produced a big two-way performance with 19 points (9-of-13 shooting), eight rebounds, four assists and four steals in his 33 minutes.
Armstrong celebrated his first points in a Warrior jersey, having gone scoreless while dishing seven assists in his G League debut on Friday. The Australian had a pair of threes and went for 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting, also adding six rebounds and four assists in 23 minutes off the bench.
Blake Hinson added 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting, while Javan Johnson added 12 off the bench as Santa Cruz had six double-digit scorers and shot 53.6% from the field and 43.3% from 3-point range as a team.
Golden State champion Juan Toscano-Anderson was back at Chase Center and left with a triple-double, with the former fan-favorite going for 22 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists despite his team's defeat.
Santa Cruz will next play against the Osceola Magic at Silver Spurs Arena on Wednesday.