HOUSTON — The Golden State Warriors were 76 seconds from a Las Vegas trip and center stage as the brand-name team in the league’s second annual NBA Cup. Thirty minutes later, in a mostly subdued road locker room in Houston, players and coaches instead were debating and grumbling about what they felt was an egregious officiating mistake that punctuated another head-scratching late-game giveaway loss.
They led by six with 1:16 left. It had eroded to one when Stephen Curry launched an ill-advised 3 too early in the shot clock on the penultimate offensive possession. Curry could’ve milked the game clock under five. He instead fired up a stepback over Dillon Brooks with nine remaining on the shot clock and 12.5 seconds remaining in the game.
That left enough time for a double-scramble, loose-ball rebound that would eventually bounce into Jalen Green’s hands, land crew chief Billy Kennedy in the spotlight and send coach Steve Kerr steaming into another furious postgame media session after a stunning 91-90 Warriors loss.
“I don’t even understand what just happened,” Kerr said. “Loose ball, diving on the floor, 80 feet from the basket and you’re gonna give a guy two free throws to decide the game.”
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This was a particularly physical NBA game, played with the intensity of the playoffs and officiated loosely. The teams only combined for 19 total free throws in 48 minutes. When Curry’s miss ricocheted to the right wing, Gary Payton II dove on it and had initial control with 7.3 seconds left. He’d later blame himself for not either holding onto it or calling the Warriors’ final timeout.
But Golden State’s locker room was upset postgame for a different aspect of the first scramble. After Payton gained control, Fred VanVleet landed on him. They agreed with the spirit of the no-call, two players grappling with the game on the line. But it only added to their fury when four seconds later — after Payton flicked an errant pass to the center of the court — Kennedy whistled Jonathan Kuminga for a similar act, as he landed on Green fighting for a loose ball.
The Warriors were in the bonus. It gifted Green two free throws. He made both. The Rockets went from down 90-89 to a 91-90 win.
“That is unconscionable,” Kerr said. “Just give them a timeout. Give them a timeout and let the players decide the game. That’s how you officiate. Especially because the game was a complete wrestling match. They didn’t call anything. Steph Curry got hit on the elbow plain as day on a jump shot. Clubbed. No call. So you’ve established you’re not going to call anything throughout the game. Then you’re going to call a loose ball on a jump-ball situation with guys diving on the floor with the game on the line?”
Kennedy affirmed his foul call in a pool report postgame, stating simply that: “The defender makes contact with the neck and shoulder area, warranting a personal foul to be called.”
The Rockets were EVERYWHERE on this game-winning sequence 🔥
HOU is headed to the #EmiratesNBACup Semifinals! pic.twitter.com/9eOzB2npUy
— NBA (@NBA) December 12, 2024
“This is a billion-dollar industry,” Kerr said. “People’s jobs are on the line. I’m stunned. I give the Rockets credit. They battled back. But I feel for our guys. Our guys deserved to win that game or at least have a chance for one stop at the end to finish the game. That was taken from us by a call I don’t think an elementary referee would’ve made because that guy would’ve had feel and said, ‘You know what? I’m not going to decide the game on a loose ball 80 feet from the basket.’”
The Warriors had a timeout left. Kerr could’ve challenged the call, but he decided against it.
“It wouldn’t have been reversed,” Kerr said. “I needed to save it for the ensuing play.”
Kennedy’s call dominated the conversation postgame. If the Rockets were awarded a timeout instead, a Warriors’ defensive stop would’ve meant a regular-season win over a nearby rival in the standings, a 15-9 record and a trip to Las Vegas for a Cup stage that Curry said he genuinely wanted to experience. The loss instead dropped them to 14-10 and sent them home for a Sunday game against the Dallas Mavericks.
But there’s a whole lot more blame to go around for what went down before Kennedy’s call. The Warriors’ offense again went silent in crunchtime, as it has done in recent losses to the San Antonio Spurs, Oklahoma City Thunder and Denver Nuggets. They didn’t score in the final 3:03. They had consecutive shot clock violations. They had a strategic mix-up on a Draymond Green turnover. They blew a six-point lead in 76 seconds.
Brandin Podziemski made the biggest defensive mistake on the other end, dropping under an Alperen Şengün screen that freed up VanVleet to hit a 3 with 1:16 left, cutting the lead from six to three.
FVV FOR 3 🔥🔥
Warriors lead by 3 in Houston 👀
🏆 1:15 to go in the 4Q
🏆 #EmiratesNBACup Quarterfinals on TNT pic.twitter.com/hkqlusUf2T— NBA (@NBA) December 12, 2024
Up three, the Warriors pretty much gifted Şengün the lane for a layup with 27.2 seconds left. Ime Udoka opted not to foul, an obvious risk, leaving only a 3.2-second difference between the shot and game clock. Had Curry been able to milk it near zero before firing up a 3, he could’ve essentially run the clock out had he hit rim. But he instead went for the dagger over long-time nemesis Dillon Brooks.
Did he go too early or like the look too much?
“Both,” Curry said. “Probably a couple seconds too early. … If I make the shot, we’re on a plane to Vegas.”
Curry missed it. The ensuing scramble turned into a nightmare scenario. The Warriors lost and were forced to again look in the mirror and question why they can’t seem to close so many tight games recently.
“The pattern of scoreless droughts down the stretch has to be addressed or else we’ll be a mediocre team,” Curry said. “I’ll take responsibility for not being able to get us organized and not being able to finish plays. Ball’s in my hands. I got to make shots.
“But I think we can all address certain sets that can get us into better shot-creation type opportunities knowing how teams are trying to guard us, especially the last five minutes. We’re talking about it. We’re experimenting. That’ll be the defining point of our entire season. If we figure it out or if we don’t. Because we’re playing well enough to win most games. That’s a good sign and a bad sign.”
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(Photo of Steph Curry: Alex Slitz / Getty Images)
