Santos shines with career highs despite Warriors’ brutal loss originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
SACRAMENTO – Steve Kerr tried using yet another starting five Wednesday with hopes of putting some spark back into the Warriors’ offense.
Gui Santos wasn’t exactly a big part of those discussions but still gave Golden State’s coach the type of night he had been hoping for in the Warriors’ 123-117 loss to the Kings at Golden 1 Center.
The 22-year-old, who spent most of the early part of the season bouncing back and forth between the Warriors and their G League affiliate in Santa Cruz, was crisp and played with a definite zeal during his 22 1/2 minutes of playing time.
Santos put up career highs in points (16) and 3-pointers (4) to go with five rebounds and two assists, and broke even in the plus-minus department. Consider that seven of the 11 players that Kerr used finished with minus numbers.
Santos took clean open shots from the perimeter and made nice cuts toward the basket when he wasn’t setting up at the perimeter.
Afterward, Santos was in no mood to take credit for his performance. In his mind, he simply was in the right place at the right time.
“When you have Steph [Curry] playing by your side, it makes you a lot more comfortable,” Santos said. “Every team that we play against, they trap on Steph and that gives us a lot of options. Now I’m feeling way more comfortable because I know when I’m setting screens for Steph, I know exactly what I have to do.”
A second-round pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, Santos has been one of the Warriors’ best stories in a season that hasn’t had a whole lot of positivity.
After playing in only seven of Golden State’s first 29 games in between trips to Santa Cruz, Santos has developed into one of Kerr’s regulars off the bench.
His performance against the Kings wasn’t exactly mind-blowing, but it did show how effective he can be in the right situation.
And in the right situation Wednesday, Santos’ impact went beyond the stat sheet.
He hit a clutch 3-pointer to give the Warriors a lead midway through the fourth quarter. Less than a minute later, Santos grabbed an offensive rebound following a missed free throw by Trayce Jackson-Davis and scored on the putback.
Santos also was one of the few Warriors who played steady defense while matched against Sacramento’s DeMar DeRozan. DeRozan scored 32 points but needed 21 shots to do so.
Not a bad night from a guy who spent many nights going back and forth between San Francisco and Santa Cruz.
“I never took that as a challenge,” Santos said of his time in the G League. “I always took that like opportunity for me to keep grinding. I know my time will come. We play a lot of games and sometimes guys are not going to be well. I know at some point that’s going to happen so I was OK. I got to keep working, keep grinding, and be ready.”
An opportunity was there for Santos on Wednesday, and he made good on the chance that he had.
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