Steve Kerr blasts officials over 'unconscionable' late foul call

Kerr did not hide his feelings about the play where Jonathan Kuminga was called for a personal foul as he and Jalen Green scrambled for a loose ball late.

"I've never seen a loose ball foul on a jump ball situation, 80 feet from the basket with the game on the line," Kerr told reporters after Wednesday's 91-90 Rockets victory. "Never seen it in the NBA. That is, I mean, unconscionable. I don't even understand what just happened. Loose ball, diving on the floor, 80 feet from the basket, and you're going to give a guy two free throws to decide the game when people are scrambling for the ball."

Kerr couldn't believe that the officials would make such a game-deciding call on such an innocuous play, especially since "the game was a complete wrestling match. They didn't call anything."

The officials called a combined 25 fouls on both teams, resulting in just 19 total free throws, including the final two from Green. During the game, Kerr was incensed at the lack of calls on defenders hitting Steph Curry, calling a timeout early in the fourth quarter to complain when Curry was blatantly fouled by Aaron Holiday on a three-pointer.

Curry's shot fell well short of the basket. After the game, he explained why he was also "going crazy."

"If I shoot an 18-footer and I miss it by six feet, then either you tell me he hit the ball or it's a foul," Curry said. "I have never shot an 18-footer [that went] 12 feet."

After the game, referee Bill Kennedy explained the loose ball call to a pool reporter.

"The defender makes contact with the neck and shoulder area, warranting a personal foul to be called."

But that wasn't Kerr's complaint. By the letter of the law, this could have been a foul by Kuminga. However, Green already had possession, so it's hard to argue Kuminga's actions gained any advantage. Kennedy's crew essentially chose to decide the game by calling the foul.

Kerr bemoaned that his team's chance to win the game with a final stop "was taken from us by a call that I don't think an elementary school referee would've made. Because that guy would've had feel and said, 'You know what? I'm not going to decide a game on a loose ball, 80 feet from the basket.'"

That was not the decision Kennedy made. Now instead of getting a chance to play in Las Vegas for the $500K per person prize (which also goes to the winning head coach), Kerr is likely looking at a fine from the NBA.