NBA: Jonathan Kuminga, Klay Thompson lead Warriors past Spurs

Jonathan Kuminga scored 22 points and Klay Thompson added 21 in his return to the starting lineup as the visiting Golden State Warriors defeated the San Antonio Spurs 112-102 on Monday in the second of a home-and-home series between the teams.

Victor Wembanyama returned to action for the Spurs after missing two games with a right ankle injury and led all scorers with 27 points and 14 rebounds.

The Warriors were without Stephen Curry because of an ankle injury but didn’t need him, at least in this night against San Antonio.

The Spurs led by eight points after one quarter and by two at halftime but had no answer for a Golden State run over the final eight minutes of the third quarter. That’s when the Warriors turned a five-point deficit into a 16-point lead, after which they cruised to the finish line and snapped a two-game losing streak.

Chris Paul hit for 19 for the Warriors while Andrew Wiggins had 16, Brandin Podziemski scored 14 and Trayce Jackson-Davis racked up 13 points and 10 rebounds. Golden State avenged a 126-113 loss at home on Saturday. The Warriors have won five straight games against the Spurs in the Alamo City and six of their past seven between the teams.

Devin Vassell hit for 17 points for San Antonio, with Keldon Johnson scoring 16 and Zach Collins adding 10.

The Spurs established themselves early on, breaking away from a two-point deficit in the opening minutes to go up by 11 points after Johnson’s 3-pointer with 37.4 seconds to play in the first quarter before settling for a 37-29 lead after 12 minutes of play.

Golden State rallied to tie the game at 43 on Kuminga’s 3-pointer at the 8:15 mark of the second quarter. The Warriors went back in front by a point on a jumper from beyond the arc by Thompson with 6:57 to play in the period before San Antonio retook a 57-53 lead on Tre Jones’ driving layup three minutes later. The Spurs led 60-58 at the break.

Thompson led all scorers with 12 points before halftime, with Paul adding 11 and Wiggins contributing 10 points for the Warriors. Wembanyama and Collins paced San Antonio with 10 points each.

San Antonio led 72-67 after Jones’ layup with 8:02 to play in the third quarter before the Warriors took charge in a major way to build a 90-74 advantage.

—Field Level Media/Reuters