What we learned as Gui Santos drops career-high 31 in Warriors’ win over Nets

BOX SCORESAN FRANCISCO – From all accounts, the Warriors on Wednesday night looked exactly like a team that had just returned from a six-game road trip that ended with a devastating injury.The 17-win Brooklyn Nets were on an eight-game losing streak and had dropped 18 of their last 20 games coming into the night. They were by far the better team the majority of the game until the Warriors found their focus in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Nets by 12 points in the period for a 109-106 win.Gui Santos stole the spotlight and scored a career-high 31 points on 11-of-16 shooting. The one negative from his performance was having five turnovers on a night where the Warriors tied their season-high of 26 turnovers. First 30-point game of Gui's career. ROLL THE TAPE pic.twitter.com/mF7XuA9jiV — Golden State Warriors (&commat;warriors) March 26, 2026 Brandin Podziemski joined Santos as the only other player to score at least 20 points. The third-year pro was game-high plus-19 with 22 points, six rebounds and five assists.Off the bench, Gary Payton II continued to be Mr. Efficient for the Warriors. Payton was 5 of 5 from the field for 10 points, and now has made his last 16 shots. Here are three takeaways from a win that gave the Warriors their first win streak since Jimmy Butler’s season-ending torn ACL on Jan. 19, improving their record to 35-38.Gui Returns To Starting Five Somebody had to be the odd man out Monday when Moses Moody came back from the wrist injury that sidelined him for 10 games. Unfortunately for Santos, he was the player sent back to the bench, but not for long. With Moody out for the season because of his heartbreaking torn patellar tendon sustained at the end of the last game, Santos regained his spot in the starting five. To no surprise, he again took advantage of his opportunity. Santos was tied for the team lead in points after the first quarter (six) and at halftime (10) before being the first player on both teams to reach 20 points in the third quarter. Santos, going into the fourth quarter, already had scored a new career-high 25 points and had made four of the Warriors’ seven 3-pointers. But he also was tied with LJ Cryer as a game-worst minus-15.The list of Warriors to score 30 points in a game before Wednesday night featured only Steph Curry, Jimmy Butler, Kristaps Porzingis, Will Richard and Moody. Now Santos is added to the list after scoring six points in the fourth quarter. What a story this season has been for him.Blow The WhistleOffense, to say the least, is a struggle for the Warriors with what they’re going against. They’ve lost so much star power and so much shooting that they’ve had to get creative to put points on the scoreboard. Or, elementary.Getting to the free-throw line should be their friend right now. Both the Warriors and Nets went 4 of 5 from the free-throw line in the first quarter, but the Nets were called for twice as many fouls – eight compared to four. As the Warriors tried to find any momentum in the second quarter, Porzingis became the master of getting a whistle called on the opposition.Porzingis in the second quarter alone drew six fouls. Led by Porzingis going 7 of 8, the Warriors’ best offense in the first half was at the charity stripe, where they went 14 of 19 as a team. KP popped up out of nowhere pic.twitter.com/dZJQRevvgn — Warriors on NBCS (&commat;NBCSWarriors) March 26, 2026 De’Anthony Melton’s free throw with 25 seconds remaining gave the Warriors a one-point lead, and Draymond Green made two with 6.9 seconds left to put them up by three, sealing the victory. In a three-point win, the Warriors outscored the Nets by 12 points at the free-throw line.Playing For PrideNo matter the opponent, no matter how injury-depleted the Warriors are, the standard still means something to a proud organization. That has been Steve Kerr’s message of late. It’s what has frustrated him recently in games that even he probably knew his team was going to lose. The message felt lost early on. The Warriors committed a ridiculous 10 turnovers in the first quarter against one of the worst teams in the NBA. Luckily for them, the Nets only turned those mistakes into eight points. At halftime, the Warriors had given up 10 points off 15 turnovers, and were called for 12 fouls, which were both more than their 12 assists. As the final 12 minutes began, the Warriors’ turnover meter reached 24, which was 10 more than the Nets and two off Golden State’s season high. Want to know why the Warriors outscored the Nets 32-20 in the fourth quarter? They gave the ball away just twice.Download and follow the Dubs Talk Podcast

What we learned as Gui Santos drops career-high 31 in Warriors’ win over Nets

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