Jonathan Kuminga's struggles matter little as Hawks rout Warriors

Joseph Dycus, Bay Area News Group on Mar 21, 2026

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ATLANTA — The most anticipated day of the Warriors’ six-game road trip had lost a bit of its luster by the time the Golden State bus rolled up to State Farm Arena on Saturday evening before a 126-110 loss to the Hawks.

Steph Curry continued to progress in his rehab from runner’s knee, but he was unable to play, but that was expected. Star Jalen Johnson was also out for the Hawks with left shoulder inflammation.

The real downer was the fact that former Warrior Jonathan Kuminga was relegated to a bench role, and the man he was traded for — Kristaps Porzingis — was out with a sore back.

Kuminga was playing his first game against the Warriors, taking on the team that drafted him No. 7 overall in the 2021 draft and traded him in February alongside fan favorite Buddy Hield.

Kuminga checked in with 5:25 left in the first quarter, briefly acknowledging his former teammates before taking his spot as a rebounder during a Gui Santos free throw.

Those hoping for a memorable revenge game were disappointed. Kuminga missed his first six shots and scored just two points on 1-of-9 shooting.

Draymond Green, while being consistently heckled by the rowdy Hawks fans, scored 13 and had four assists. De’Anthony Melton led the team with 20 points. Nate Williams scored a career-high 19 points, and Georgia native Will Richard scored nine.

The Warriors entered Atlanta in poor form, having lost seven of their last eight. Meanwhile, a loss on Friday had snapped a 11-game winning streak for the Hawks.

The Warriors led 36-35 after one quarter, but the Hawks walked into the halftime locker room up 63-61 and then took complete control in the third.

Atlanta began the quarter on a 25-5 run, and the Warriors were not able to make up ground after falling apart. Golden State was outscored 63-49 in the second half.

The Warriors will play the final game of their six-game road trip in Dallas on Monday.

Melton plays back-to-back

De’Anthony Melton cleared a major hurdle in his recovery from a torn ACL. After being limited to only one leg of back-to-backs, Melton played in Detroit on Friday and in Atlanta on Saturday.

He played only 22 minutes against the Pistons, and followed that up with 22 minutes against the Hawks.

Melton has slowly ramped up his workload since returning from an ACL injury that sidelined him for almost an entire year.

In the absence of Curry, Melton has been the team’s top off-the-bounce scorer. He’s averaged 15.3 points per game since Curry went down with knee soreness on Jan. 30.

Porzingis out

The Warriors were without their addition from the Kuminga trade, as Kristaps Porzingis was ruled out with lower back soreness. It was an expected designation after he exited Friday’s game in the second quarter while holding his lower back.

“I kind of started feeling it in the first quarter, it started spasming up a little bit. While I was warm, I was OK. But on that one play, I felt a little spasm,” Porzingis said at his locker in Detroit postgame.

The center depth was not decimated though, as Green (back), Quinten Post (ankle) and Malevy Leons (wrist) were both cleared to play by team doctor Rick Celebrini.

Gary Payton II, who has scored in double figures 20 times this season, was held out with a right hip contusion.