With his team only up by one point and the Cleveland Cavaliers threatening to snatch the lead in the late stages of their Christmas day matchup, Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr decided to bench Stephen Curry on the crucial play where Kyrie Irving hit a tough fadeaway jumper that proved to be the game-winner.

During the postgame interview, the back-to-back MVP clearly showed his frustration over Kerr's tactic and that he wanted to be on the court in crunch time.

Kerr on the other hand defended his strategy and gave his reasons why he opted to sit Curry late in the game. He also said that he knows how Curry feels and that he will get over it soon after understanding his decision.

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“That's just strategy. We wanted more length. Shaun gives us a lot of length, the ability to go up and get a rebound on a missed shot. If we need to switch something, we can switch to a like-sized player.

“He's a big boy. He's a two-time MVP. He's an unbelievably mature, thoughtful person. He was, I'm sure, upset at the way the game went for him — just like I was upset after the game with my comments, talking about our turnovers. We were all upset.

“In the end, we're all together. Win or lose, we keep pushing forward.”

The Oakland faithful are hoping it does not turn out to be a misunderstanding that will carry on in future games, though with Curry and the Warriors that is unlikely.