Warriors' Kuminga out at least 3 weeks with ankle sprain

SAN FRANCISCO --Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga will be reevaluated in three weeks afteran MRI confirmed he suffered a significant lateral right ankle sprain, the team said Sunday.

Kuminga sustained the injury late in the second quarter of Saturday's 121-113 win over the Memphis Grizzlies when he landed awkwardly in the paint and rolled his right ankle. He left the game immediately and exited Chase Center on crutches after the win. He underwent an MRI on Sunday.

Kuminga had been enjoying the best stretch of his career, receiving more opportunity and being used as a primary scorer at times. He averaged 20.5 points over his past 14 games, including scoring 20 or more points in three of his previous four games and a career-high 34 points in consecutive games. But now the Warriors will be without the 22-year-old for at least three weeks. He will miss at least 11 games.

"Brutal," Golden State coach Steve Kerr said before the Warriors' 129-99 loss to theSacramento Kingson Sunday. "JK has been playing so well and obviously such a big part of what we are doing. He is our more athletic scorer and finisher and has been playing so well.

"We do feel good about our depth and ability to withstand his loss.Kyle [Anderson], Moses [Moody] will get more of an opportunity."

Kuminga is averaging a career-high 16.8 points and five rebounds per game this season. Last month, he became the first Warriors player with 30 points or more in consecutive games off the bench since Cazzie Russell in 1974.

"I just don't want to be off," Kuminga said about the injury coming as he is playing his best basketball. "I want to be out there playing and I feel like our team is now taking off in the right direction and I would love to just be out there."

Kuminga's injury comes just over a month before the Feb. 6 trade deadline. He was asked how he feels about where he stands with the Warriors organization and his future, as he is set to become a restricted free agent this summer.

"I've said before [that] you never know what's going to happen," Kuminga said. "But I'm pretty confident where I'm at and I feel good about where I'm at right now with everything that's going on."

The Warriors are also without Brandin Podziemski (abdominal strain) and Gary Payton II (calf). Podziemski could be nearing a return, as Kerr said the team was initially hopeful the guard could have returned Sunday before needing a little more time to recover.br/]