Warriors news: Terry Stotts explains Steve Kerr’s ejection in Warriors’ narrow loss to Clippers

For the first time in a while, Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr did not go to the podium post-game, and for a good reason, according to assistant coach Terry Stotts.

“I’m up here because I’m saving Steve some money,” Stotts said with a sly smile. “That’s the only reason I’m here.”

Kerr was ejected at 7:57 in the fourth quarter of the Warriors’ 103-102 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers after officials missed a clear goaltend on Warriors’ Gary Payton II’s layup attempt by Clippers’ forward John Collins. A demonstrative Kerr had to be restrained by Payton and Stotts as he yelled at crew chief Brian Forte, leading to the two quick technicals and subsequent ejection.

“There were probably some other things, but that was probably the last straw,” Stotts said, hinting at other missed calls.

On the previous possession, the officials did not grant Stephen Curry a continuation on a foul that ended with the guard nailing a wild floater. They ruled the foul on the ground, taking away a potential three-point opportunity. Stotts said the Warriors were not given an explanation as to why the shot was taken away. For Curry, he thought the ruling was inconsistent with his past experiences.

“Usually, if it’s a 50/50 call either way, you let it go to where the basket goes, and then you just play on,” Curry said. “I’ve never seen it where it’s a delayed call… It’s hard to miss both of those in a momentum-swinging situation like that.”

Shooting woes doom Warriors’ comeback attempt

In a vacuum, those calls cost Golden State five points in a game decided by a single point. But while the officiating caused major frustrations for Golden State, what ultimately doomed them was their poor shooting from anyone not named Curry or Jimmy Butler. The Warriors shot 10-of-41 from beyond the arc, which nullified the fact that they actually won the turnover battle 7-t0-20.

And still, despite the shooting woes and despite missing Kerr for the stretch run, the Warriors made a push late in the fourth to give themselves a chance to steal a win. Curry hit two 3-pointers to cut the lead to one with 1:05 left in the game. But on the subsequent defensive, Curry picked up his sixth foul, reaching in on Kris Dunn, which left the Dubs without their hall-of-fame-bound star and hall-of-fame-bound coach.

With the game on the line, the Warriors went to Butler in the post– not a bad Plan B by any means. But his heavily contested fadeaway turnaround missed iron and let the Clippers hang on. Curry finished with 27 points, and Butler finished with 24.

“I thought we played well. We couldn’t hit shots,” Draymond Green summarized. Green finished with 12 points and a +15 plus/minus after receiving a rib contusion and ankle tweak all in the same game.

“We missed a lot of shots we normally make or can make. But we took care of the ball and defended without fouling. I thought we did a lot of good things. Forced turnovers. We just didn’t capitalize enough. In a game where you force 20 turnovers, only have 7 turnovers, we probably should have 130 or 140 [points].”

The official explanation of Steve Kerr’s ejection

After the game, ClutchPoints’ Tomer Azarly conducted a pool report with crew chief Forte, who cited that Kerr directed “profanities” at the officials, which is what warranted his ejection. Forte did admit that the crew did miss Collins’ goaltend but that the play was not reviewable.

“The shot by [Gary] Payton hit the backboard prior to being touched by Collins. It should have been ruled a goaltending violation. The only way it could have been reviewed was if it was called on the floor and the Clippers challenged the call, because it did not occur in the last two minutes of the game.”

As for no continuation call on Curry’s layup, Forte confirmed the ruling on the floor was the correct one.

“Curry was grabbed around the hip by Collins prior to the gather,” Forte told Azarly. “And this was correctly ruled a non-shooting foul.”

After the game, the Warriors players backed Kerr’s ire and frustration. Payton cited how Kerr’s ejection gave them a “spark,” and appreciated having a coach willing to advocate for the players. Curry also echoed Payton’s sentiments.

“Coach did the right thing,” Curry said. “We responded the right way, gave ourselves a chance to win. But on the road, that’s a tough moment.”

Golden State will return home 19-18 on the season. Their next eight games will be played on their home turf.

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