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The Golden State Warriors are spiraling; they suffered their fifth defeat in a row on Tuesday night, and in heartbreaking fashion once more, with the Denver Nuggets pulling out a 119-115 NBA Cup victory. Despite leading by seven with only 2:32 left in the game, the Warriors couldn't pull out the win — with their loss being marred by controversy in the end after Nuggets guard Christian Braun, after snagging an incredible offensive rebound, tried to call timeout even though they no longer had any.
"Steve Kerr is ticked off"
Steve Kerr stormed off the court in Denver after his team blew a double digit lead. After diving for a loose ball, Christian Braun appeared to start to signal for a timeout his team didn't have which was ignored by the refs.pic.twitter.com/TapIBc6di2
— Hot Hand Theory (@HotHandTheory) December 4, 2024
This then went unpunished, which then sealed the game in the Nuggets' favor — much to the Warriors' chagrin. Had the referees gave Braun the timeout, it would have given the Warriors a technical free throw and the possession — which could have meant the world in a four-point game. Thus, there is no surprise whatsoever that Steve Kerr blew a gasket following this oversight from the officials.
“Braun called a timeout. He rolled over [and made the timeout gesture]. Everybody thought it except for the three guys we hire to do the games. That makes me angry,” Kerr said in his postgame rant, via Anthony Slater of The Athletic. “It's up to the referees to see somebody's mess. That's why there's three of them. Somebody's got to see it. That made me mad.”
Steve Kerr was extremely upset the officials didn’t call a technical on the Nuggets late when Christian Braun tried to call a timeout (and the Nuggets didn’t have one).
Full soundbite on that non-call and the loss pic.twitter.com/1AYDPJbRfx
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) December 4, 2024
It has to be very infuriating for Kerr and the Warriors to have nothing go their way amid this brutal five-game stretch. The fact that they've relinquished late-game leads against the San Antonio Spurs and Brooklyn Nets, and now, against the Nuggets will cause some endless stomach churning for the a Dubs team that can't get a dub as of late.
Warriors let another game slip away from their fingertips
For most of the night, the game between the Warriors and the Nuggets was hanging in the balance. But Golden State seemingly got control of the game in the fourth quarter, even going up by double digits with seven minutes to go in the period after a Moses Moody triple.
The Warriors' offense, however, shut down, and Nikola Jokic simply willed the Nuggets back to the game. And while Steve Kerr feels hard done by the officials' oversight, he knows that that was not the main reason for their defeat.
“That's not why we lost. Most of these games in this stretch, we're not closing. We're not executing. We're not making good decisions. It's got to improve,” Kerr added.
