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Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry was assigned to officiate Saturday’s 145-144 double-overtime loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.
The nine-time All-Star said he was “disappointed” with the referees’ lack of consistency.
“You want to be in a position where the players decide the game or what you’re saying is consistent on both sides,” he told reporters. “…There were probably three plays I was involved in where it was clearly a bad decision.”
The Lakers attempted 43 free throws compared to only 16 for the Warriors, with Golden State whistled for 13 more fouls. LeBron James made two free throws with one second on the clock in the second overtime to give Los Angeles the win.
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr also made his opinion clear about the officiating, refraining from commenting:
warrior on nbcs ,nbcs warrior
“I can comment on the free throws he shoots, but my mom is here right now and I want to be on my best behavior.”
Steve Kerr shoots 27 more free throws on the Lakers than the Warriors 😅 pic.twitter.com/qbTidlT2Uj
The difference in free throws was definitely different. Los Angeles had a 27-point lead at the charity stripe.
Curry pointed to one reason the Warriors struggled to get to the line on Saturday. Teams that rely too heavily on the perimeter game are less likely to make contact, especially with the N.B.A. make an organized An attempt to limit the ways a shooter can commit fouls.
Golden State launched 58 three-pointers against Los Angeles, 21 of which were courtesy of Curry. It doesn’t entirely explain why the two-time MVP only had three free throws, but at least it’s One the explanation.
