of golden state warriors had a 6 point lead against houston rockets There was 1 minute and 30 seconds left in regulation time in the NBA Cup quarterfinals Wednesday night. The Rockets came from behind to win 91-90 thanks to a controversial loose ball foul by the Warriors in the final minute, giving Houston the lead.
With about 10 seconds left and Golden State leading by one point, Stephen Curry missed a 3-point shot. Teammate Gary Payton II dove to the floor for the loose ball and attempted to pass the ball. Rockets guard Jaylen Green dove to the floor and retrieved it, and Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga dived to tie it. The referee called a foul on Kuminga, and Golden State was over the foul limit, so Houston got two free throws. Green sank both to give Houston the win and a ticket to Las Vegas for the NBA Cup semifinals.
Kerr called the foul call “unconscionable” and said, “I don't even understand what happened. Read his full comments here:
“I've never seen a loose ball situation where you're 80 feet from the basket and the stakes are at stake,” Kerr said after the loss.
Watch the play here:
It felt like a very questionable call at this point. Why didn't the referees give Houston a timeout and allow the Rockets to win the game with one more possession? The fact that this was a low-scoring rock fight all night makes this foul call even more questionable.
The Rockets will face the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Cup West Finals on Saturday. The winner will face the winner of the East Division match between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Atlanta Hawks.
