The NBA announced that the referees made three mistakes in favor of Draymond Green in the Golden State Warriors‘ loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday night.
The game was controversial because a missed call early in the fourth quarter took away two points from Golden State. It also led to Steve Kerr’s subsequent ejection.
According to the league’s L2M report, the officials had three errors in the final two minutes of the Warriors-Clippers game. It all involved Green, who had his best passing performance of the season.
The first incorrect non-call happened at the 1:40 mark of the final period. Green should have been called for a moving screen on Kris Dunn. The referees ruled that the four-time NBA champ turning into Dunn’s path and making contact was illegal.
The second and third incorrect calls were a pair of defensive three-second violations on Green. He was basically camping on the paint, but the officials failed to enforce the rule twice, which would have resulted in two free throws for the Clippers.
Luckily for Kawhi Leonard and the Clippers, the three mistakes didn’t result in a tough defeat.
NBA Ref Admits Missed Goaltending Call
In addition to the L2M report, crew chief Brian Forte spoke to ClutchPoints’ Tomer Azarly after the game. Forte was asked about the play that caused Steve Kerr to lose his cool and get ejected for cursing at the officials.
The lead referee admitted that they missed the goaltending call against the Los Angeles Clippers that should have awarded two points to the Golden State Warriors. However, they had no power to review and overturn it because of certain circumstances.
“The shot by (Gary) Payton hit the backboard prior to being touched by John 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,” Forte said.
While some Warriors fans are free to think that the referees cost them the game, they had a shot to win in the final seconds. With Steph Curry on the bench after fouling out, Jimmy Butler missed a jump shot with less than two seconds left.
Draymond Green and Kawhi Leonard battled for the rebound, but the ball got loose as the buzzer sounded. The Clippers earned a well-deserved 103-102 victory.
Green Makes Joke About Kerr’s Ejection
Speaking to reporters after the game, Draymond Green was asked if he had seen Steve Kerr get angry the way he did when the referees missed the goaltending call. Green, who has been ejected twice this season already, joked about the situation.
“Yeah, when he was ready to kill me the other day in the huddle,” Green said, via NBC Sports Bay Area.
The former Defensive NBA Player of the Year was alluding to a tense shouting match between him and Kerr last December 21 against the Phoenix Suns. Green walked away and headed back to the locker room.
Kerr responded by leaving him on the bench for the rest of the game, as the Warriors outlasted the Suns.
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