Warriors’ Jonathan Kuminga ruled out for at least 3 weeks after ankle sprain

Golden State Warriors have suffered a huge blow as their in-form forward Jonathan Kuminga has been ruled out for at least three weeks after suffering an ankle injury. Kuminga suffered 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.

The 22-year-old youngster will be reevaluated in three weeks after an MRI confirmed he suffered a significant lateral right ankle sprain, the team said on Sunday.

Kuminga was averaging 20.5 points over his last 14 games, including scoring 20 or more points in three of his previous four games and a career-high 34 points in consecutive games and thus his injury is a big blow for the team. He is all set to miss at least 11 matches for the Dubs.

“Brutal,” Golden State coach Steve Kerr said before the Warriors’ 129-99 loss to the Sacramento Kings on 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 shared his disappointment after knowing the magnitude of his injury.

“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 said he is happy with where he is standing at the moment 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 will next take on Miami Heat on Tuesday.