Warriors drought in Atlanta extends as Kerr makes significant Kuminga call

The last time the Golden State Warriors beat the Atlanta Hawks at State Farm Arena...Kevin Durant was still on the team.

The Hawks' dominance over the Warriors on their home floor extended to six years on Saturday, holding on for a 124-115 victory after a huge first-quarter that the visitors could never recover from.

Golden State found themselves down 17 after 12 minutes, with Atlanta pouring in 40 points as they came out firing offensively. The Warriors continued to battle and drew within single digits on a few occassions, but they never really got close as Trae Young controlled the game for the hosts with 25 points, five rebounds and 10 assists.

Former Santa Cruz Warrior Georges Niang was the killer in the second-half, going 6-of-9 from 3-point range for the Hawks to finish with 23 points in just 22 minutes off the bench. That signified Golden State's inability to limit their opposition, with Atlanta shooting 57% for the game including 41.7% from beyond the arc.

Steve Kerr showed his urgency with the rotation on Saturday

With a couple days off before Jimmy Butler's big return to Miami on Tuesday, head coach Steve Kerr was happy for his main core to fight it out till the very end. Playing without the injured Stephen Curry, Butler played over 37 minutes, Brandin Podziemski over 36, and Draymond Green in excess of 35 as the Warriors desperately tried to get back into the game.

Butler had his equal second-highest scoring output with Golden State, putting up 25 points, four rebounds and eight assists which included going 10-of-14 from the free-throw line. Podziemski had 19 points, eight rebounds and four assists on 5-of-8 shooting from distance, while Moses Moody also played over 34 minutes and 20 points, four rebounds and five assists.

The use of Jonathan Kuminga in the second-half was fascinating from Steve Kerr, with the young forward not playing at all in the fourth-quarter in what could become a talking point. Kuminga had added some scoring punch in Curry's absence with a team-high 16 first-half points, but failed to add to that in less than 22 minutes off the bench.

Gui Santos and Kevon Looney also played less than five minutes off the bench, but Gary Payton II continued his good form with 11 points and four rebounds on 5-of-7 shooting after missing Thursday's win over the Toronto Raptors.

The L.A. Clippers can now surpass the Warriors for the sixth-seed with a win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday, while the Minnesota Timberwolves are also drawing near in what's only becoming a tighter race in the Western Conference standings.