Wound-up Warriors blow a fuse
MEMPHIS, Tennessee — The Golden State Warriors not only lost to the Memphis Grizzlies, they lost their cool in the closing minute.
Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant both were ejected with 43 seconds left on Saturday night, a fitting end to a frustrating night for the Warriors in a 111-101 loss to Memphis.
“My pockets will be a lot lighter for sure,” Curry said about the ejection after thinking he was fouled and throwing his mouthpiece. Durant may draw additional penalties after he appeared to make an obscene gesture to the Memphis crowd.
Marc Gasol had 34 points and 14 rebounds, and the Grizzlies built a 19-point third-quarter lead over Golden State before holding on for the win. James Ennis III added 13 points, and Tyreke Evans had 12 as Memphis shot 47 percent compared to 39 percent for Golden State. The Warriors shot 12 of 38 from 3-point range.
Curry led the Warriors with 37 points, and Durant added 29 and 13 rebounds.
Curry scored on a layup with 43 seconds left to cut the Memphis lead to 107-99 — as close as the Warriors got to Memphis in the fourth quarter. But Curry thought he was fouled on the play and threw his mouthpiece along the baseline, leading to immediate ejection, the first in a regularseason game in his career.
“My frustration boiled over, did something stupid, deserved to get kicked out and that’s what happened,” he said.
But Curry denied trying to hit official Scott Wall with the throw.
“If I tried to throw it at him
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and hit him, I’ve got a pretty good aim,” Curry said, adding he “would have been able to execute that”.
With Curry headed out, Durant also was arguing and crew chief Brian Forte sent him to the locker room. As Durant was walking out along the sidelines, the Memphis fans taunted him and screen shots of the broadcast showed him with an extended middle finger.
“That’s part of the game. It’s fun,” Durant said of the crowd reaction. “They’re heckling us, calling us names. It’s nothing personal or nothing serious.”
Kerr noted that when Curry threw his mouthpiece it was “pretty much an automatic rejection”, adding: “He was frustrated. We were all frustrated. It was a bad night.”
Durant, who had a careerhigh seven blocks in Friday’s win at New Orleans, had three against the Grizzlies, almost half the Warriors’ seven in total.
When asked if he thought Curry would be suspended, Kerr tongue-in-cheek said it could be eight to 10 games. “It was egregious. It was awful, it endangered people in the stands.” Then he added: “You’re asking the wrong guy. The league can figure that out.”
A major portion of the Warriors’ anemic shooting came in the third quarter when they made only 6 of 22 shots. That led to 15 straight Memphis points and a 19-point Grizzlies lead late in the third.
Memphis outscored the Warriors 32-20 in the frame, holding an 88-71 lead entering the fourth.