Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr was furious over a foul call in the final 3.5 seconds of Wednesday’s 91-90 loss to the Houston Rockets that proved 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 three-pointer and Gary Payton II got the rebound on a loose ball on the ground with 7.5 seconds left. Payton attempted a pass to Jonathan Kuminga, but Houston’s Jalen Green dove for the ball. Kuminga was then called for a foul while trying to recover the turnover with 3.5 seconds left.
The Rockets were in the bonus, so Groen got two free throws. The fourth-year star made both, giving Houston a 91-90 lead and eventually winning.
Kerr was outraged by the call during the game and had a lot to say about it afterward.
“A loose ball situation, 25 yards from the basket, with the game on the line,” he told reporters. “I’ve never seen that before. I think I saw it once in college, 30 years ago. Never seen it in the NBA. That’s unconscionable. I don’t even understand what just happened.”
Kerr went on to say that the match was “taken away from us by a call that I don’t think a primary school referee would have made.”
Still, crew chief Bill Kennedy said the right decision was made. tells Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle“The defender makes contact with the neck and shoulder area, causing a personal foul to be called.”
In the NBA Last 2-Minute Report released Thursday, the league agreed with the call, saying: “Kuminga (GSW) reaches over Green (HOU) in an attempt to reach the ball and pulls his shoulder down. “
Additionally, the 2-Minute Report said that Houston’s Fred VanVleet was correctly not called for a foul when he collided with Payton while looking for the loose ball, saying, “VanVleet (HOU) makes clean contact with the ball while Payton II (GSW) the ball goes through.”
The Last 2 Minute Report acknowledged two missed calls in the last two minutes. The Rockets’ Dillon Brooks should have been called for a 3-second defensive violation with 1:41 left in the game. And with 3.5 seconds left, the Warriors’ Brandin Podziemski wasn’t called for a 5-second foul before inbounding the ball for Golden State’s final shot attempt.
That report is certainly no comfort to Kerr. Nor is the fine he will likely receive for publicly criticizing officials after the match.
