SAN FRANCISCO — The numbers that might define the direction of the Warriors might be easy as one, two, three. And they have nothing to do with two or three-pointers.
Jonathan Kuminga left Saturday night’s game with a right ankle sprain. If it’s a Grade 1 strain, he’ll be back on the court in no time. If it’s Grade 2, returning before January’s over might become questionable. A worst-case scenario Grade 3 high ankle sprain would put his season in jeopardy.
The Warriors won’t immediately know how severe Kuminga’s injury is, but the most encouraging sign is that he didn’t need assistance while hopping off the court and into the trainer’s room after rolling his ankle.
The Warriors wanted to use the next few weeks to see how their current group — and trimmed rotation — would look after a tumultuous start to the season. They started 12-3 but fell all the way to .500 at the end of December.
Now, if Kuminga’s sprained ankle sidelines him for a large portion of January, gauging the roster will be significantly more complicated.
The evaluation period continued Saturday, with the Warriors avenging their 51-point defeat to Memphis with a 121-113 victory at Chase Center. Golden State made 23 of 43 3-pointers — with six players making at least three — and forced 23 turnovers.
Dennis Schroder (17 points, nine assists) had his best game as a Warrior and Andrew Wiggins scored 18 of his 24 points in a key third-quarter stretch. Golden State made 14 more 3s than Memphis to overcome a massive rebounding deficit (43 to 29).
Neither Steph Curry nor Ja Morant suited up, but each team played with passion. The game included three technical fouls and a flagrant. The Warriors are now 5-2 in games without Curry this season.
The Warriors hit their first four 3-pointers and started 8-for-14 from behind the arc. Their first two-point bucket came almost 11 minutes into the game on a Jonathan Kuminga left-handed drive.
Despite the hot shooting and an early 12-2 lead, the Warriors never created real separation.
Pat Spencer — playing because Steph Curry and Brandin Podziemski were unavailable — guarded his brother, Cam, and hit a one-legged teardrop with one second left in the quarter. But Jake LaRavia rattled home a half-court buzzer beater to close a 30-29 frame.
Lindy Waters III then scored eight unanswered points. The Warriors held the Grizzlies scoreless for the first three minutes of the second quarter, deflecting passes and cutting off driving lanes. The Warriors stretched their lead to 11, but Memphis responded with an 18-6 run to pull ahead.
With 2:27 left in the half, Kuminga hobbled to the locker room. He’d just hit his third 3-pointer of the night and tried to contest a shot in the paint, but landed in a crowded sea of legs.
The past two weeks have been Kuminga’s best stretch of his career. Over his last six games entering Saturday night, he averaged 24.3 points and eight rebounds. He played well both with and without the ball, and on both ends of the court, leading to head coach Steve Kerr repeatedly describing the span as a “breakthrough.”
Kuminga got ruled out for the rest of the game at halftime and finished with 13 points and four turnovers.
Without Kuminga, Andrew Wiggins stepped up. After scoring two points in the first half, Wiggins poured in 18 points in the third quarter by hitting six straight shots — including two 3s. Buddy Hield also chipped in, breaking his slump by making four of his seven triples.
Draymond Green started the fourth quarter with a hard foul on Zach Edey that got upgraded to a flagrant. The two have history, with Green calling the rookie center “soft” on his podcast earlier this year.
The next defensive possession, after nailing a 3, Green immediately picked up a technical foul. It was a chippy, tightly contested game, as so many matchups between the Warriors and Grizzlies have been.
Schroder slashed inside for a tough and-1 finish, but got slapped with a technical for taunting his victim on the ground.
Leading by five with 2:25 left, Waters sank a catch-and-shoot 3 — his fourth of the night. Then Wiggins skied for a one-handed slam, icing the game with a minute left.
Green raised both hands and waved goodbye to the Grizzlies’ bench. After getting embarrassed in Memphis earlier this year, the Warriors had an answer.
