Refs missed crucial call in Kings’ loss to Warriors in Game 5, admits NBA
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The NBA has admitted officials made a critical error at a crucial moment in the Kings’ 123-116 loss to the Golden State Warriors in Game 5 of their first-round playoff series Wednesday at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.
The Kings were trailing 119-114 when Warriors star Stephen Curry was fouled on a driving layup. Curry went to the free-throw line to complete a three-point play that put the Warriors up by eight with 22.4 seconds remaining, ensuring a victory that gave Golden State a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series.
Curry flexed and roared toward the crowd after pushing the Kings to the brink of elimination, but the NBA acknowledged Thursday officials missed a call that would have negated that entire sequence. According to the NBA’s Last 2 Minute Report, Curry should have been called for double dribble as he made his way to the basket.
“Curry (GSW) brings his hand underneath the ball and pins it to his body before he resumes his dribble thereafter,” the Last 2 Minute Report states.
The Kings should have been awarded possession with 25 seconds to go, still trailing by five with a chance to cut the deficit to two or three. Instead, the Warriors went up 122-114, all but sealing Sacramento’s fate.
Officials also missed two calls that benefited the Kings in the last two minutes of Wednesday’s game, although neither of those plays resulted in points for Sacramento. The first was a defensive 3-second violation on Harrison Barnes on a possession that ended with an offensive foul on Kevon Looney with 1:11 remaining. The other was a loose ball foul on Barnes, who clamped and held Looney’s arm while battling for a rebound with 16.6 seconds to play.
The Warriors are seeking back-to-back NBA championships after winning their fourth title in eight years last season. The Kings will have to win Game 6 at Chase Center in San Francisco on Friday to force a decisive Game 7 on Sunday in Sacramento.
This story was originally published April 27, 2023 at 4:26 PM.
