Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr was furious over a foul called in the final 3.5 seconds of Wednesday’s 91-90 loss to the Houston Rockets that turned out to be the difference in the outcome.
However, the NBA says the right decision was made.
With the Warriors leading 90-89, Stephen Curry missed a 3-pointer and Gary Payton II got the rebound off a fumble on the court with 7.5 seconds left. Payton attempted a pass to Jonathan Kuminga, but Houston’s Jalen Green lunged for the ball. Kuminga was then called for a foul while trying to recover the ball with 3.5 seconds left.
The Rockets were in the bonus, so Green received two free throws. The fourth-year star did both, giving Houston a 91-90 lead and an eventual victory.
Kerr was outraged by the decision during the game and had plenty to say about it afterward.
“A fumble situation, 80 feet from the basket, with the game on the line.” told reporters. “I’ve never seen that. I think I saw it once in college, 30 years ago. I never saw it in the NBA. That’s inconceivable. I don’t even understand what just happened.”
Kerr went on to say that the game “was taken away from us by a call that I don’t think an elementary school referee would have made.”
However, crew chief Bill Kennedy said the right decision was made. telling Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle“The defender makes contact with the neck and shoulder area, which warrants a personal foul.”
In it Report of the last 2 minutes of the NBA released Thursday, the league agreed with the call, saying “Kuminga (GSW) approaches Green (HOU) in an attempt to get to the ball and lowers his shoulder.”
Additionally, the 2 Minute Report said that Houston’s Fred VanVleet was not properly called for a foul when he collided with Payton while reaching for the loose ball, saying “VanVleet (HOU) makes clean contact with the ball as Payton II (GSW) makes the approve.”
The 2 Minute Report acknowledged two missed calls in the last two minutes. The Rockets’ Dillon Brooks should have been penalized for a 3-second defensive violation with 1:41 left in the game. And with 3.5 seconds left, the Warriors’ Brandin Podziemski was not called for a 5-second infraction before snapping the ball for Golden State’s final shot attempt.
Surely that report is no consolation to Kerr. Neither will the fine he will likely receive for publicly criticizing the referees after the game.