Steve Kerr could only stand in disbelief, mouth agape with his arms stretched out.
In all his years playing basketball, be it as an NBA champion with the Bulls and Spurs or coaching the dynasty Warriors, he’s never seen a call like the one he saw Wednesday night that doomed Golden State in its 91-90 loss to the Rockets in the NBA Cup quarterfinals.
“I’ve never seen a loose ball foul on a jump ball situation, 80 feet from the basket with the game on the line,” Kerr said. “I’ve never seen that. I think I saw it in college one time 30 years ago. Never seen it in the NBA. That is, I mean, unconscionable.
“I don’t even understand what just happened. Loose ball, diving on the floor, 80 feet from the basket, and you’re going to give a guy two free throws to decide the game when people are scrambling for the ball. … Give them a timeout and let the players decide the game.”
That foul call led to the Rockets’ tying and go-ahead free throws and the Warriors could not rally, ending their chances of bringing home the NBA Cup and the financial reward for the winning team.
Kerr, star Steph Curry and seemingly Draymond Green all had gripes with referee Bill Kennedy, who made the game-changing call.
“I’m pissed off. I wanted to go to Las Vegas. We wanted to win this Cup and we aren’t going because of a loose ball foul, 80 feet from the basket with the game on the line,” Kerr said. “I’ve never seen anything like it in my life and that was ridiculous.”
The Warriors led 90-89 with roughly 10 seconds remaining when Curry missed a 3-pointer, setting off a scramble for the ball.
The ball eventually made its way toward the Rockets’ Jalen Green and the Warriors’ Jonathan Kuminga, who both dove for the ball.
Green had better positioning than Kuminga, which seemingly would have allowed for the Rockets to receive a timeout or even a jump ball.
Instead, Kennedy called a foul.
“The defender makes contact with the neck and shoulder area, warranting a personal foul to be called,” Kennedy, the crew chief, said in the pool report.
Green made both free throws with 3.1 seconds left to take the one-point lead and Jabari Smith Jr. blocked Brnadin Podziemski’s game-winning attempt to secure the win.
As the game ended and the Rockets celebrated, Green gave Kennedy an earful and the broadcast captured Curry looking on in disbelief.
“I haven’t seen the replay, but in that type of situation, there’s a feel of like who got to the ball first. If you’re telling me it was a clear foul then I’ll shut up, but I don’t think that’s the case. Was it?” Curry said while asking reporters their thoughts on the play. “There’s indecision in the group, so that means then let the game play out and let us decide it and not two free throws, 90 feet from the basket.”
He added: “Obviously the way it went down, the 50-50 ball into an unreal loose ball foul that changed the game.”
Kerr noted that the call stood out even more since the referees allowed what he dubbed a “wrestling match” with few calls before blowing the whistle on a play that usually does not result in a foul.
Both Kerr and Curry mentioned a missed call on a jumper by the guard that went uncalled.
“This is a billion-dollar industry. You got people’s jobs on the line. I am stunned,” Kerr said. “I give the Rockets credit. They battled back. They played great defense all night. But I feel for our guys. Our guys battled back, played their asses off and deserved to win that game or at least have a chance for one stop at the end to finish the game and that was taken from us by a call that I don’t think an elementary school referee would’ve made because that guy would’ve had feel and said, ‘You know what? I’m not going to decide a game on a loose ball, 80 feet from the basket.’”
