Jonathan Kuminga's rapid growth continued on Saturday when his team needed him most.

Facing Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and the league-leading Boston Celtics in an NBA Finals rematch without Andrew Wiggins, the Golden State Warriors asked more of Kuminga than at any other point this season. He answered the challenge with another stellar individual performance, starring in his role on both sides of the ball while flashing the isolation scoring chops that portend future stardom.

Dub Nation will be replaying highlights of Kuminga's bully-ball dunk over the top of Tatum for hours on end.

Kuminga finished with 14 points, five rebounds and three assists on 6-of-9 shooting in Golden State's 123-107 victory, once again making a major impact offensively while staying true to the Warriors' overall ethos on that side of the ball.

It was the other end where the 20-year-old most impressed Steve Kerr, though.

“I thought JK was great,” he said on the postgame podium.Just his athleticism and size and strength, to be able to bring him off the bench and put him on either Brown or Tatum, and then the way he can switch and stay in front of people whether it's those two I just mentioned or Marcus Smart or Brogdon, the guys who are attacking. JK has really helped solidify our defense, and given us another weapon that we can put on the best players on the opponent.”

Kuminga, like Klay Thompson, played a pivotal role in Tatum's widespread struggles on Sunday. The Celtics' MVP candidate scored 18 points on just 6-of-21 shooting, never getting anything easy as Kuminga and Thompson pressed him on the perimeter, largely keeping Tatum in front as the Warriors' help defense swarmed behind them.

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It was another indication of Kuminga realizing his early-career value to Golden State, and especially impressive considering the absence of Wiggins. There was a thought Tatum might go off at Chase Center with the Warriors' missing the player who hounded him across the floor with a championship on the line last June. But Tatum's labors instead seemed plenty familiar, both Thompson and Kuminga proving up to the task of checking a superstar forward who scores from all three levels of the court.

No team can ever have two many quality defenders on the wing. Wiggins has earned that distinction and Thompson proved on Saturday that it still applies to him, at least in certain games against certain players. Kuminga's mounting defensive effectiveness doesn't need that qualifier, and could be the X-factor that helps Golden State jumpstart its season—just like it was against Boston.