Uhm Young Mi-sook, ESPN staff writer
HOUSTON — An enraged Steve Kerr makes a call the officiating staff has never seen in his NBA career, costing the Golden State Warriors a 91-90 loss to the Houston Rockets and a chance to advance to the NBA Cup semifinals. He said he lost. Las Vegas.
“I’m pissed,” Kerr said late Wednesday night in the Warriors’ locker room. “I wanted to go to Las Vegas. I wanted to win this cup game, but I won’t go because I got fouled on a loose ball 80 feet from the basket with the game on the line. I’ve never seen anything like this in my life.” , it was ridiculous. ”
With the Warriors leading by one point in the final seconds, Stephen Curry missed a 3-point shot, leading to a scramble for the loose ball and bodies from both teams hitting the floor.
Gary Payton II grabbed the rebound on the floor, but Houston guard Fred VanVleet slid over him and Payton tried to pass the ball to Jonathan Kuminga. Kuminga and the Rockets’ Jaylen Green slammed the loose ball to the floor, and Kuminga was called for a personal foul with 3.5 seconds left. Carr could only watch with his mouth hanging open.
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Green sank both free throws and the Rockets led 91-90. On the final possession, Curry was blanketed near the sideline and passed by Brandin Podzemski, and his 3-point shot from the corner was blocked by Jabari Smith Jr., securing Houston’s victory and ending their losing streak against the Warriors. I stopped at 15.
Houston will play Oklahoma City on Saturday in Las Vegas.
An enraged Kerr then berated the officiating crew, led by crew chief Bill Kennedy, who called a personal foul on Kuminga. Kerr and the Warriors argued that officials had previously allowed both teams to play a very physical game.
“I’ve never seen a foul on a loose ball in a jump ball situation 80 feet from the basket with the game on the line,” Kerr said. “I’ve never seen anything like that. I think I saw it once in college 30 years ago. I’ve never seen it in the NBA. I mean, it’s disrespectful. I don’t even understand what happened. Loose ball, diving.” When people are fighting for the ball on the floor 80 feet from the basket, players are given two free throws to decide the game. Just give them a timeout and let the players decide the game. They didn’t call anything, especially since the match was a complete wrestling match.
“So you decided not to call anything during the game. This is a physical game. And in a jump ball situation where a player goes to the floor, do you call a foul on a loose ball? The game is on the line. This is a multi-billion dollar industry. People’s jobs are at risk. ”
Kennedy later explained the call to a pool reporter.
“The defender made contact in the neck and shoulder area, so a personal foul will be called,” he said.
The Warriors (14-10) trailed by six points but were unable to score in the final three minutes. Curry missed a step-back 3-pointer and the game ended in a scramble for a loose ball with 11.1 seconds left, leaving Kerr stunned and the Warriors locker room nearly silent afterward.
“I haven’t seen the replay, but I’d be quiet if I said it was a clear foul, but I don’t think it was,” Curry said. “Really? There was some indecision within the group. So instead of shooting two free throws 90 feet from the basket, let’s go ahead and make the game and we’ll make it.”
Curry and Kerr were also upset about another play a few minutes earlier in which Curry appeared to be fouled on Aaron Holiday’s 6-foot jump shot. With 8 minutes and 14 seconds remaining and the Warriors up by six, his jumper missed the basket. Curry and Kerr argued with officials, but were not called.
“You can talk about the referees all day long, but that’s not the reason we lost,” Curry said. “But there’s a swing in the game. Obviously those last two free throws and that play are five-point swings.”
Curry said official Moosa Dugger explained that the ball had already been released after Holiday hit him in the hand or wrist.
“I think if you shoot an 18-footer and miss at 6 feet, you either hit the ball or you call it a foul,” he said. “We’ve never had an 18-footer go to 12 feet. Then they go down and (Tali) Eason hits a 3 in the corner. That’s a big swing. There’s no way the refs are going to take us out of it. But those are clearly plays that could end up being very tough, low-scoring games that give teams unfair possession.
“That’s why I was going crazy. I don’t yell at referees like that. That was a clear foul.”
Curry and the Warriors said they are very motivated to go to Las Vegas to win the NBA Cup in his second season. Instead, they were left sweltering in the visitors’ locker room at Toyota Center while the Rockets celebrated their big win.
It was the second loss in eight days in which Kerr questioned late calls from officials that he believed hurt the Warriors’ game. After the end of a 119-115 loss to Denver on Dec. 3, Kerr claimed that the Nuggets’ Christian Braun signaled a timeout after securing a loose ball while Denver had no timeouts remaining. Officials said Brown did not clearly signal a timeout. A timeout would have given the Warriors a technical foul with 1.9 seconds left and possession, which would have given the team a four-point lead. Officials called for a jump ball instead.
“I’m surprised,” Kerr said after Wednesday night’s loss. “I give credit to the Rockets. They fought back and played great defense all night. But I feel bad for the players on our team. Our players fought back, played hard and played hard that game. “Eligible to win, or at least have a chance of one more stop” end to end the game.
“And that was taken away from us by a call that I don’t think was made by an elementary school referee, because that guy would have had some sense and said, ‘I’m not going to decide the game.'” Loose balls, baskets. At 80 feet. ”
