Stephen Curry nearly cost the Golden State Warriors with a pair of bad possessions and an unusual mistake in the final moments of Game 4 of the Western Conference first-round playoff series against the Kings.
The Warriors appeared to have the game in hand with a 126-121 lead in the final minute against Sacramento, as they looked to even the series at 2. Golden State was out of timeouts, however, having lost their final one on an unsuccessful challenge a minute and a half earlier.
Curry lost track of the number, however. He was trapped in backcourt and tried to call timeout while the Warriors had none left. That was an automatic technical foul, giving the Kings one free throw and the ball.
Steph Curry called a timeout when the Warriors had no timeouts left 🤯
The Kings were given a technical free throw and possession of the ball down only 5 points 👀pic.twitter.com/SR9FBELSn1
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) April 23, 2023
Malik Monk made the free throw, then De’Aaron Fox hit a deep three on the ensuing possession following an offensive rebound. Curry rushed a shot on the ensuing Golden State possession and missed, giving the Kings the ball back down one with 12 seconds left.
Harrison Barnes got a decent look from three at the buzzer, but missed the shot, letting Curry off the hook.
Harrison Barnes missed the game-winner 😳 https://t.co/49CPp1RV4C
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 23, 2023
To be fair to Curry, his defensive work on the final possession helped deny Fox the chance to make a game-winner. He also led the Warriors with 32 points, and his shooting essentially kept them in the game to begin with.
Still, the late mistakes were the sort you might expect the young Kings to be making in a tight playoff game, not a team as accomplished as the Warriors. Still, they stepped up and made good on some comments Curry made earlier in the series.
