Jonathan Kuminga has a long way to go before cementing himself as a nightly impact player. If he ultimately lives up to that status on the Golden State Warriors' quest for back-to-back titles, though, it's safe to say Tuesday night will have proven a pivotal turning point in Kuminga's development.

Golden State fell to Dallas 116-113 at American Airlines Center, nearly helpless to stop Luka Doncic defensively and compounding problems with ice-cold three-point shooting on the other side of the ball.

Among the biggest reasons the Warriors came back from an early 17-point deficit to make the game competitive was Kuminga, whose strong two-way effort received lavish praise from Steve Kerr on the postgame podium.

“Best game I've ever seen JK play, because everything he did contributed towards making an impact on winning,” Kerr said. “His defense on Luka was fantastic. He was disciplined, he stayed down and he challenged shots. I think he had a couple blocks. He stayed patient offensively, he just took the shots that were there. He knocked down a big three.”

Kuminga finished with 14 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks on 6-of-8 shooting. His team-high plus-minus of +21 was an accurate portrayal of his overall impact, as was the fact Kerr reinserted him for some of the game's biggest possessions in crunch time.

Kuminga didn't just take turns as Doncic's primary defender in the last few minutes, but also calmly drained a crucial three-pointer to pull Golden State within one that Dallas almost dared him to take.

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Making open shots is key to Kuminga's effectiveness, obviously, but he did all the dirty work necessary on Tuesday to ensure Kerr keeps giving him chances like that going forward regardless.

Kuminga was easily Golden State's best defender on Doncic, stymying him in the post on multiple occasions and forcing a turnover by getting an early long-arm contest on his step-back three. The sophomore forward skied for multiple one-handed rebounds in traffic, came out of nowhere for a pair of help blocks at the rim and played within the Warriors' scheme offensively.

It was a banner performance from Kuminga, basically, coming on the heels of another outing that suggested he's finding his footing as a defense-first, sparkplug finisher off the bench. Kerr, remember, lauded Kuminga's scoreless game in Friday's win over the Utah Jazz, too.

“JK's been fantastic,” the Warriors coach said. “He's really coming into his own and that's very exciting.”

Exciting for Golden State, and a problem for the rest of the league.