The Golden State Warriors were frustrated in Game 6 in Cleveland. They had the opportunity to win their second straight NBA championship over the Cleveland Cavaliers, but were outplayed for big stretches of the game before falling 115-101. Part of their frustration was with the officiating, which they didn't agree with for most of the night. A lot of that centered on the foul trouble of MVP Stephen Curry, who picked up three fouls in the first half, and had five fouls with 9:48 left in the fourth quarter.
With 4:22 left in the game, Curry fouled out and was not happy with the call and the calls of the night. He threw his mouth guard after the final foul on him and was assessed a technical. That technical got him ejected from the game, even though he had already fouled out. After the game, Warriors coach Steve Kerr was asked about Curry and the officiating. To no one's surprise, Kerr backed his player.
"It had nothing to do with the outcome. The outcome was decided. But he had every right to be upset. He's the MVP, he gets six fouls called on him, three of them were absolutely ridiculous."
"Three of the six fouls were incredibly inappropriate calls for anybody, much less the MVP of the league."
"I'm happy he threw his mouthpiece. He should be upset."
Kerr will probably end up giving at least $25,000 to the NBA for those comments. The NBA doesn't like coaches and players publicly criticizing officials, especially when it comes to comments after the game. A couple of the fouls by Curry were questionable. The fifth foul looked to be a clean steal when he poked the ball away from Kyrie Irving early in the fourth quarter. However, he was assessed the foul anyway. Kerr kept Curry in the game and he lasted another five minutes.
The Warriors also weren't happy with the fouls in the first half, which you can see here:
Warriors' Steph Curry commits three fouls in first half vs. Cavaliers pic.twitter.com/TtBx96r1S0
-- Kenny Ducey (@KennyDucey) June 17, 2016
The first foul in which he got Tristan Thompson was a legitimate call. Even if it's hard to believe Curry could toss down a bigger player like that, he did enough to earn the call. The second foul seemed like a bad call. LeBron James dipped his shoulder a bit and extended the off arm as he drove into Curry. Curry looks to be squared up to the contact, which is usually an automatic charge. However, later in the first half, LeBron was assessed a charge as he ran into Curry, who didn't appear to be in position to draw the charge. That could have easily been a blocking foul on Curry, so those calls even out.
The third foul was a good call, as Curry both reached in against Irving and wrapped his arm around Kyrie's waist as he came around the screen.
Regardless, Curry fouled out and the Warriors lost. They'll have to find their composure in Game 7 if they want to find a win.
