Chris Paul got away with what many felt was a foul on Steph Curry on the final play of the Clippers’ 98-96 win over the Warriors at Oracle Arena on Thursday night.
Golden State had 7.8 seconds left and sent the ball in to Curry who was in iso against CP3. Curry pushed off to free himself, then went for the step-back 3-pointer. Paul appeared to make contact with Curry on the elbow, but the real contact was down lower where CP3 pushed Curry with his left forearm.
“Chris did a good job of putting his hands on [Curry]. When he went up for the shot, you’re supposed to be able to come down,” Warriors coach Mark Jackson said after the game via SI’s Ben Golliver.
There was definitely contact there from both players. Curry pushed off, and Paul nudged Curry backwards during the shot. But was that enough to warrant a foul call? I didn’t think so.
Here’s the pushoff by Steph that many are conveniently omitting from the conversation:
That’s also a slick veteran move by CP3. While everyone’s looking up at the shot, hit ’em down low. That’s a classic magician’s deception move right there.
