All Steve Kerr could do was stand there with his arms outstretched and his mouth open in disbelief.
In all my years of playing basketball, whether it was winning NBA championships with the Bulls or Spurs or coaching the dynasty Warriors, I watched Golden State lose 91-90 to the Rockets on Wednesday night. I've never seen a call that sealed my fate. NBA Cup quarterfinals.
“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 about 30 years ago. I've never seen it in the NBA. I mean, it's unconscionable.
“I don’t even understand what happened: a loose ball, 80 feet from the basket, diving to the floor, people fighting for the ball, and they end up giving one guy two free throws to decide the game. …Give us a timeout and let the players decide the game.”
The foul call tied the game for the Rockets, allowing them to take the lead on free throws, and the Warriors were unable to fight back, costing them the chance to take home the NBA Cup and the financial reward for the championship.
Players like Kerr, star Stephen Curry and Draymond Green were all unhappy with referee Bill Kennedy, who made a game-changing call.
“I'm pissed. I wanted to go to Las Vegas. We wanted to win this Cup game, but we can't win it because of a foul on a loose ball 80 feet from the basket where the game is on the line. '' Carr said. “I had never seen anything like that in my life and it was ridiculous.”
With the Warriors leading 90-89, Curry missed a 3-point shot with about 10 seconds left and a scramble for the ball began.
The ball ended up going to the Rockets' Jaylen Green and the Warriors' Jonathan Kuminga, who both dove for the ball.
Green had better positioning than Kuminga, allowing the Rockets to receive timeouts and jump balls.
Instead, Kennedy called a foul.
“As the defender made contact in the neck and shoulder area, a personal foul will be called.'' Mr. Kennedy, the crew chief, stated in his pool report:.
Green made two free throws with 3.1 seconds left to take a one-point lead, and Jabari Smith Jr. blocked Brunadin Podzemski's winning try to seal the victory.
After the game, as the Rockets celebrated, Green listened to Kennedy, and Curry was seen on the broadcast watching in disbelief.
“I haven't seen the replay, but in a situation like that, it feels like who got the ball first. I'd shut up if I said it was a clear foul, but I don't think so. '' Curry told reporters when asked what he thought of the play. “There's some indecision within the group, which means they're going to let the game go on for too long and make it instead of shooting two free throws 90 feet from the basket.”
He added: “Obviously the way the game went, a 50-50 ball turned into an unbelievable loose ball foul and the game changed.”
Kerr noted that the call was even more noticeable because the referees allowed what he called a “wrestling match” on a few calls before blowing the whistle on a play that normally would not result in a foul.
Carr and Curry I mentioned missed calls The guard put on a jumper but was not called.
“This is a billion-dollar industry. People's jobs are at stake. It's amazing,” Kerr said. “I give credit to the Rockets. They fought back. They played great defense all night. But I feel for our players. Our players fought back and played hard. , he had a chance to win that match, or at least end it with one stop at the end, but it was taken away by a call that didn't look like it was made by an elementary school referee, because the guy must have felt it and said, . We're not going to decide the game on a loose ball 80 feet from the basket.”
