These are not happy Warriors.
Golden State was left fuming at the referees after a 131-130 overtime loss to the Timberwolves in Minneapolis on Friday night, describing some of the calls as “mind-boggling.” Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry even called out official Marat Kogut by name after the game. Curry called him the “MVP of tonight” and Durant described him as “the best player on the floor.”
What likely had them so upset was a call Kogut made with 4.4 seconds left in overtime and the Warriors behind 130-127. Durant caught an inbound pass at the top of the 3-point arc, turned and hit a trey that appeared to tie the score. Kogut whistled for a foul on the Timberwolves’ Keita Bates-Diop and Durant was celebrating thinking it was a potential four-point play. Instead it was ruled that the former MVP was not fouled in the act of shooting.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr thought otherwise.
“Did I think it was before the shot?” Kerr told reporters. “I just watched the replay. He caught and he shot – it’s a four-point play. I mean, I don’t know what else to say. Kind of mind-boggling. You catch and you go up for a shot, and you get fouled in any league – any league – that’s a good bucket and a free throw. Any league, not just the NBA.”
His team didn’t mask its frustration. After Curry hit a contested 3-pointer to tie the score on the next play, he and several other Warriors celebrated by pointing at Kogut on their way back to their bench.
“He was the best player on the floor tonight,” Durant said of Kogut. “He made sure that — he’s so good with his whistle that he knew they were gonna foul me, and he called it right before I shot the ball. So he’s one of the greatest refs of all time.”
The questionable calls didn’t end there.
This time, official Leon Wood whistled for a foul on Durant as he was guarding Karl-Anthony Towns on an inbounds play with the score tied and 0.5 second remaining. The lob pass appeared to go well over Towns’ head and it looked like minimal contact from Durant, who blankly stared at Wood after the call was made. Curry made his way halfway into the tunnel before returning to the bench. Kerr said the pass was “going 10 feet over the rim.” Durant tried to be a little more diplomatic
“Lemme just stop talking about the officiating,” Durant said. “But you seen the play.”
Curry didn’t put all the blame on the officials as Golden State fell to 51-24 as the battle the Nuggets for the top seed in Western Conference.
“At the end of the day it’s one of 82, we’re not going to get overblown that much,” Curry said. “We should have been way ahead in the second half by playing better.”
That didn’t take way from their frustration. Durant said the Warriors watched replay of the questionable calls multiple time in the locker room after the game.
“It’s just tough when your effort like that gets sabotaged for sure,” Curry said. “I’ve been back there looking at those calls over and over and over again and still don’t understand either one of them. KD four-point play which puts pressure on them with 4 seconds left to have to get a bucket. And at the end of the game, nobody wants to see a game end like that.”
