With few games left in the regular season and a playoff spot in the balance, the Santa Cruz Warriors received some help on Sunday night.
Two-way guard Quinn Cook returned from a long absence to pour in 41 points, and Golden State assignees Jordan Bell and Damian Jones combined for 32 points and 16 rebounds to lead Santa Cruz over the Memphis Hustle, 132-120, at Kaiser Permanente Arena.
After missing significant time because of personal reasons, Cook was back to his old self, dishing out 10 assists to go along with his stellar shooting night.
He finished 13-for-19 and hit six 3-pointers.
“It was great to be back with everybody,” Cook said in the postgame interview. “To beat this team, a good team, it was a big win for us.”
A significant one, no doubt.
Santa Cruz now sits at 21-21 overall with seven games to go. Still alive for a G League playoff spot, the Warriors will begin a four-game road trip tonight at 4:30 p.m. against the Sioux Falls Skyforce.
Playing in front of Golden State head coach Steve Kerr, who was sitting court side, Bell finished with 14 points, six rebounds and five assists in his first action with Santa Cruz.
He wowed the crowed with a reverse alley-oop slam from guard Jeremy Pargo in the fourth quarter, as the Warriors held off a late Memphis (17-27) push.
“Obviously with the Warriors it’s tough to get some minutes like this,” Bell told reporters after the game. “I think today really helped a lot.”
The Warriors jumped out to an early 12-0 lead and never looked back.
Pargo added 23 points and 10 assists. Damion Lee came off the bench and finished with 18 points, six rebounds and four assists.
Santa Cruz shot a red-hot 62 percent from the field.
With Bell and Jones leading the way, they outrebounded the Hustle 36-29.
Jones pulled down a game-high 10 boards.
