A furious Steve Kerr said the officials made a call he had never seen in his NBA career and that decision cost the Golden State Warriors a 91-90 loss to the Houston Rockets, as well as a chance to go to the semi-finals of the NBA Cup in Las Vegas.
“I’m angry,” Kerr said Wednesday night. I wanted to go to Las Vegas! We wanted to win this cup, and we weren’t going to succeed because of a foul on a loose ball, 80 feet from the basket with the game on the line. I’ve never seen anything like that in my life, it was ridiculous. »
With the Warriors leading by a point in the final seconds, Stephen Curry missed a shot from downtown and a scrum for the loose ball ensued, as players from both teams ended up on the floor.
Gary Payton II took possession of the rebound on the floor, but Houston guard Fred VanVleet slipped on him and Payton tried to pass the ball to Jonathan Kuminga.
Kuminga and Rockets player Jalen Green went to the floor for the loose ball and Kuminga was assessed a personal foul with 3.5 seconds left. Kerr could only watch the footage speechless.
Green made both free throws to give Houston a 91-90 lead. On the final possession, Curry was blocked near the end of the court and he handed the ball to Brandin Podziemski, but his shot from downtown was blocked by Jabari Smith Jr., to confirm the victory for Houston and put end to a streak of 15 straight losses against the Warriors.
Houston will face the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday in Las Vegas.
Kerr then lashed out at the officiating crew, led by Bill Kennedy, who called the personal foul on Kuminga. Kerr and the Warriors argued that the referees had allowed both teams to play a very physical game up to that point.
“I’ve never seen a foul on a loose ball, 80 feet from the basket with the game on the line,” Kerr said. I have never seen this. I think I saw it in college once, 30 years ago. Never in the NBA. This is unacceptable. I don’t even understand what happened. A loose ball, diving on the floor, 80 feet from the basket, and you give two free throws to a player to decide the game while there is a scrum for the ball. Give them a timeout and let the players decide the match. This is how we arbitrate. Especially because the match was a wrestling matchup. They didn’t call anything.
“You don’t call anything during the game. It’s a physical match. What about a call on a loose ball with players on the ground? With the game on the line? It’s a billion dollar league. People’s jobs are at stake.”
Kennedy explained the decision after the match.
“The defender makes contact with the neck and shoulder area, resulting in a personal foul. »
The Warriors (14-10) blew a six-point lead and didn’t score in the final three minutes. Curry missed a three-pointer with his team leading by a point with 11.1 seconds left, before the loose ball led to the end of the game.
“I didn’t see the replay, but… if you tell me it was a clear mistake, I’m going to shut my mouth. But I don’t think that was the case, Curry said. Was it? There is uncertainty in the group, that means you let the game go and you let us decide. Not with two free throws. »
