Steve Kerr seems stuck, mouth wide open. After a missed 3-pointer from Stephen Curry to kill the match, Gary Payton II recovered the rebound but he tried to pass the ball to Jonathan Kuminga. Except that Jalen Green threw himself on the ball, and while the Congolese also dove, Golden State thought there was going to be a jump ball.
Problem: referee Bill Kennedy then called a foul on the Rockets back, who had control of the ball on the ground. Result: two free throws which will give Houston the match (91-90)!
“A ball lying around, 25 meters from the basket, with the game on the line” lists the Warriors coachfurious, at a press conference. “I’ve never seen that. I may have seen him once in the NCAA, thirty years ago. Never in the NBA. It's inconceivable. I don't even understand what just happened. »
Another failed “money-time” for the Warriors…
Steve Kerr is even more furious because he tried to take a timeout when Gary Payton II had the ball in hand, entering the field thinking he would be seen by the officials. Pushed aside by one of the referees who let the action take place, he could only watch what happened next.
“This is a billion-dollar industry. There are jobs on the line… Our guys deserved to win this game or at least have a chance to make a save to end the game and that was taken away from us by a decision that a grade school referee did not wouldn't have taken it, because this guy would have had common sense and said to himself: 'You know what, I'm not going to decide a game on a lost ball 25 meters from the basket'. »
The Golden State coach will also end his press conference very quickly…
“I'm angry. I wanted to go to Las Vegas. We wanted to win this Cup. We're not going there because of a foul on a loose ball 25 yards from the basket, with the game on the line. I've never seen anything like that in my life. It was ridiculous” he repeats again before getting up and leaving the room.
For the Warriors (14 wins – 10 losses), the NBA Cup is therefore well and truly over, and it is yet another defeat after a poorly managed “money time”, this team not being able to kill the matches.
