Steve Kerr stood up for his best player after his Golden State Warriors lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers 115-101 in Game 6 of the NBA Finals on Thursday.
Two-time league MVP Steph Curry was ejected from the game after throwing his mouthpiece in frustration following his sixth foul with about four minutes left in the game (video here). Kerr believes the fouls called against Curry throughout the game were “absolutely ridiculous.”
“He gets six foul calls that are absolutely ridiculous. He steals the ball from Kyrie (Irving) clean at one point; LeBron flops on the last one … this is the MVP of the league we’re talking about, these touch fouls in the NBA Finals,” said Kerr after the game.
“Let me be clear: We did not lose because of the officiating. They totally outplayed us and Cleveland deserved to win. But three of the six fouls were incredibly inappropriate calls for anybody, much less the MVP of the league.”
Kerr was then asked about Curry throwing his mouthpiece. His reaction may come as a surprise.
“Yeah, I’m happy he threw his mouthpiece; he should be upset. It’s the Finals.”
You know things had to be extreme for Curry to be ejected for the first time in his career. The questionable officiating even led to Curry’s wife Ayesha accusing the league of being “rigged”, though she later apologized for making the claim.
Despite losing two in a row, Kerr said he was confident in his team leading into Sunday’s deciding Game 7.
