So far, so good for Jonathan Kuminga in Atlanta.
The formerly disgruntled Warriors forward made his Atlanta Hawks debut Tuesday night following a trade-deadline deal that moved him from Golden State. It was pretty much all the Hawks could have hoped for from his first game in Atlanta.
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Kuminga came off the bench in his first game. But he developed into the No. 1 Hawks option Tuesday night in a game in which All-Star Jalen Johnson left in the first quarter with a hip injury.
Kuminga finished with a game-high 27 points to lead the Hawks in a 119-98 blowout over the Washington Wizards. He added 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals. He did it from inside and out and in transition while shooting 9 of 12 from the field and 3 of 4 from 3. And he did it all in 24 minutes.
Kuminga introduces himself to Atlanta
Kuminga made his debut with 6:22 remaining in the first quarter as one of the first three Hawks off the bench alongside Zaccharie Risacher and Gabe Vincent.
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He almost immediately flashed the athleticism that made him so tantalizing in Golden State but never materialized into anything substance on the basketball court. His first bucket as a Hawk was a cutting layup through traffic in transition.
Not long after that, he took an outlet pass from Risacher for an uncontested dunk.
He capped his first-quarter scoring with a 3 to finish with seven first-quarter points. And the Hawks extended a 12-9 run when their subs entered the game to 35-20 by the end of the first quarter.
Johnson injury opens door for Kuminga to take over
Johnson sustained his injury in the first quarter and didn’t return to the game. He watched from the sideline in warmups after the Hawks eventually ruled him out with a left hip flexor injury. The severity of the injury wasn’t initially clear.
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But Johnson’s absence opened up more opportunity for Kuminga, who continued to work inside and out through the game as the Hawks opened up the score against a woeful Wizards team playing without former Hawk Trae Young, who was on the bench in street clothes for his first game back in Atlanta since being traded.
Kuminga entered the game midway through the third quarter still sitting on seven points and opened his from second half scoring with another 3.
From there, he took over the lead role for the Hawks in a debut that will surely generate some smiles in Atlanta. He left the game with 6:16 remaining and the Hawks holding a 111-80 lead.