BROOKLYN — The home crowd at Barclays Center erupted after every Steph Curry highlight but sat in eerie silence for the home team in Brooklyn. A quiet night in New York reflected the clunky performance on the court — one the Warriors came away from with a 109-98 win on Monday night.
The Warriors’ funk stunk most in the first half, filling the box score with 10 turnovers and gifting the Nets with 15 points off them. Jonathan Kuminga’s burst into the second half snapped the funk, scoring 17 second-half points to fuel a comfortable win. He finished with 28 points shooting 9-of-18 from the field.
Curry scored a team-high 29 points while leaning in on what sounded like a hometown crowd on the road, even goading the crowd for a cheer after drawing an and-1 on a driving floater to give the Warriors a 10-point lead with just over a minute remaining.
Klay Thompson struggled again, scoring eight points shooting 4-for-9 from the field and 0-for-3 from 3. He was benched during the Warriors’ 34th crunch time game for Gui Santos, who was a game-high plus-13 during his 18 minutes of action. Santos, the rookie, was a team-best plus-13 in 18 minutes, collecting six rebounds with nine points.
“We stayed with the group because they were really competing and making plays and they had the momentum so I didn’t want to stop the momentum,” coach Steve Kerr said, praising Santos’ effort on the boards and cutting to the basket.
Andrew Wiggins sat out Monday’s game while dealing with a left foot sprain he injured during the first half of the Warriors’ loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday. The forward’s status is considered day-to-day, coach Steve Kerr said before the game.
Brandin Podziemski started in Wiggins’ place alongside Curry, Thompson, Kuminga and Draymond Green. The Santa Clara product scored 15 points and grabbed 11 rebounds while playing a team-high 38 minutes.
Moses Moody, sidelined since Jan. 10 with a calf strain, made his return to the rotation. He scored four points in 15 minutes.
The Warriors are 22-25 and will travel to Philadelphia to take on the 76ers on Wednesday and will close out this five-game road trip in Indiana on the trade deadline Thursday.
