NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS: TIMBERWOLVES VS WARRIORS

May 10, 2025

Jonathan Kuminga

Golden State Warriors

Game 3 - Postgame Media Conference

Minnesota Timberwolves 102, Golden State Warriors 97

Q. A couple nights ago, you mentioned you got your confidence back. Was this a sign of you just feel like you had it from the beginning in this one?

JONATHAN KUMINGA: Can you repeat the question, please?

Q. A couple nights ago, you mentioned that you got your confidence back. Was this just an extension of that? Did you feel good from the beginning in this game?

JONATHAN KUMINGA: I feel like I was just ready. Feeling much better, just my body since I got hurt, that confidence, and just staying ready.

Q. Can you talk about the challenge of playing this many minutes and having this kind of production, and getting that rhythm when you haven't been able to establish a rhythm, obviously being sort of in and out of the rotation?

JONATHAN KUMINGA: It's not easy. It's very tough. I think the only thing that kept me ready was watching how we play, working out every other day and just watching film. I think that was the only preparation.

Q. You guys are playing a different style of offense out of necessity without Steph. In what ways does that benefit your game?

JONATHAN KUMINGA: It don't really matter. It don't really matter. I think the important is just to go out and perform no matter what's going on, no matter if Steph is out there. Or I don't know when he's come back but all that matters, just go out and give it all you've got. I think that's the most important.

Q. How do you feel like you and Jimmy complemented each other on the court tonight?

JONATHAN KUMINGA: I think I did okay, just being around him, just playing off of him, and just knowing what he wants and just talking about to him more.

I've been watching how everyone move around him and how everyone is playing around him, and you know, it was just a matter of time of me just going out there. I think it's the most I ever played with Jimmy.

So, you know, we are all basketball players. You know, you learn as you watch. I feel like it's me watching and learning every other day, it makes sense playing around him. It's kind of actually easy. It's just the same way as Steph in a different way. You've got another player with Steph and another player with Jimmy. They are two different people, but they attract so much attention that you've just got to be alert when they've got the ball.

Q. I'm not sure if you remember the moment that I'm talking about, but one of your first shots towards the end of first quarter was an end one, and you kind of laid on the floor and embraced the crowd as they embraced you back. Did you fuel off of that fire? Did that kind of get you going?

JONATHAN KUMINGA: I think that got me going. I think just trying to involve the crowd in, it just give us this type of boost where we feed off that type of energy. And, you know, it was one of those moments hike I'm here, let's just get this rolling.

Q. A career playoff high for you tonight. Given the timing of it all, the ups and the downs, how good did it feel to get this tonight?

JONATHAN KUMINGA: It would have felt great if we won this game. It's just part of the journey. But I'm glad, you know, things went well, but it doesn't feel well when you don't get the win.

Q. How does your ankle feel, you mentioned a little bit earlier?

JONATHAN KUMINGA: It feels good. I was just a little nervous on one play, and I missed a layup that I don't usually miss, it was against Conley, the up-and-down-and-under, because I was nervous, you know, landing. But just throughout the game, throughout all this time, it feel better.

Q. How difficult has it been for you to get back your touch and rhythm and some of the stuff you had in January prior to the injury?

JONATHAN KUMINGA: It's not easy, especially when you don't get too many opportunities to be out there. I can do all that in my workouts and stuff like that, but if you're not in the game, it's different and more serious. Just within the time, it keep getting better. Like I said just keep gaining my confidence back.

Q. You talked about a journey. What has this journey been like the last couple months since you hurt your ankle? Have you talked to Looney or your teammates?

JONATHAN KUMINGA: I just stay connected, connected to my teammates as much as I can. Loon, Draymond, pretty much all of them. Just staying connected as much as I can.

Q. And Steve mentioned that you've been playing in some of the practice games with the other guys who don't play a lot during the games. What have you learned from that and have you let out some frustration? How has that helped you prepare for what happened tonight?

JONATHAN KUMINGA: Those guys helping, staying ready. We go out there, we actually play hard, like our life's on the line, not just me, pretty much everyone that participate in those games.

And we all play to just stay ready, no matter who got a chance to play or who don't have a chance to play, we all go out there and play hard, hoping that anything could happen and we could be thrown out there and just get a chance to go out there and play. I think that's kind of been a thing that we do every other day when we're not playing, when you're playing low minutes, you stay ready.

Q. Are you going to practice today?

JONATHAN KUMINGA: Practice days, before practice, like day off, like tomorrow, if I don't play today, I would be would be here playing. I think some of the guys just play right after the game. So you know, just things like that keep everybody ready.

Q. You don't play tomorrow?

JONATHAN KUMINGA: I could. I'm still young, it don't matter.

Q. Anthony was asked what got him going, was it the Looney Slam? But he said it was actually when you slammed on him. I was just wondering your thoughts about that and how you could keep him down and keep up that ferocity in your play.

JONATHAN KUMINGA: I didn't even think about that. It was just a moment. It was just a moment in the game. Especially getting a pass from Jimmy, trying to get the crowd going. But I didn't know what got him going.

Q. You've had big games in the regular season, but what does it mean to have this kind of game in the playoffs on this kind of stage?

JONATHAN KUMINGA: I just look at it as just another day of getting better, of trying to help our team win. I know it's the playoff and stuff like that. Every game counts. I just try to come here and win every other day no matter what.

Q. Did you also notice the other night, you dunked and Lacob got up and was super excited pumping his fist and tonight he did it after one of your plays that you scored.

JONATHAN KUMINGA: Who?

Q. Joe Lacob. What does it mean that the owner is one of your biggest fans?

JONATHAN KUMINGA: I don't pay attention to that. It's crazy. Any time I'm out there playing, I don't know if that's how everybody look at it. Like I don't even see the crowd. I only see my teammates and our coaches. Sometimes I don't even know what side of the floor I'm on because I'm so lock in on trying to do the right things.

You know, when the play stops, that's when, oh, everything is here. But when we playing, I feel like I'm just so locked in, I don't pay attention to anyone sitting on the side but my teammates, the other team and our coaches.

Q. How do you look at the way you played defense tonight you looked engaged on Edwards and he scored a bunch later in the game, but do you feel like you held your own against him?

JONATHAN KUMINGA: I think I did my best. I'm not going to stop every other action but you know, I kind of did what I had to do. I think I did okay. I've just got to go back and watch film and keep learning on how he plays, on things he does. You know, for me and Gary, we're not going to get all the stops, but just make their life harder.

Q. Obviously there were some concerns about you and Jimmy in the lineup together during the regular season but Steve said pregame that he thinks it's been working lately, partly because Steph being out. Do you think that's solely what it is or do you think it's something else, like comfortability, just getting more reps together?

JONATHAN KUMINGA: I would say just getting more reps together. And like I said, all the amount of time I've been out, watching film, even when I don't got to play, I watch films and they show me if the ball go through Steph and Jimmy, this how you got to play, this how you got to play off of them.

I still watch those film no matter if I'm playing or not playing. If they show me the film, this how you got to do it when you play with these people. I think the more we're on the floor together, as much as we have been, now you start learning, this how you should play, and this is how you should move around him and the more and more we're out there together, the more it gets easier.

Q. Down 2-1, but this is a game where an awful lot of guys played well even though it's a loss. Do you feel like you still have some control of the series? Any desperation?

JONATHAN KUMINGA: I feel good about where we are. We're going to come here. We're going to practice. We're going to watch film. We're going to learn and see what we need to correct. We're going to come back and compete and get another win, and like I said, we don't know when Steph is coming back. That's going to be another guy that's going to be back, whenever he get back. But with the guys that we have right now, I think that we could do something special here.