A controversial no-call allowed the Warriors to escape with a 116-113 win over the Kings to snap a five-game losing streak Monday night.
The play in question happened as time expired, when Kevin Huerter elevated for a 3-pointer. Klay Thompson, guarding the Kings forward tightly, appeared to make contact on Huerter — but no whistle sounded.
Had Thompson been called for the foul, Huerter would have had a chance to send the game into overtime with three foul shots.
Mike Brown, Sacramento’s head coach, expressed frustration with how the game ended.
“It’s tough being a Sacramento King, I think, because Kevin got fouled,” Brown, the former Warriors’ top assistant, said. “I know there are missed calls throughout the course of a game — missed calls on us, missed calls on the opponent. I just want at the end of the game, somebody to step up and make the right call. A guy gets hit on the arm shooting a 3, it’s a foul.”
Just four days ago, the Kings lost to Miami on Tyler Herro’s game-winning 3, which he made after a traveling violation went uncalled. The NBA’s last two minute report confirmed the crew got it wrong, as Herro took two steps after gathering the ball.
“A guy takes six steps, or three-four steps, it’s a travel,” Brown said. “We just want an opportunity to win in overtime. Just like in the Miami game, I asked the ref if it was a foul. He said no. It was clearly a foul. I feel bad because our players fought and they didn’t get an opportunity in overtime. But that’s part of it. But to have two games like that on the road where the whistle is swallowed and there’s a missed call, that’s tough man. That’s tough for my guys in the locker room, because their fighting their behinds off.”
Huerter also appeared weighed in on Twitter.
The evaluation for Thompson’s play will likely be similar. Thompson, up three points and a main responsibility not to travel, pushed Huerter on the catch, tapped his shooting arm and obstructed his landing area. It’s possible he committed three fouls on a single play — all in 1.4 seconds — and didn’t get called for any.
Officiating has long been a sore spot for the Kings franchise, spanning back to conspiracies surrounding the 2002 Western Conference Finals.
But there’s no smoking gun from Monday night: just a missed call at the wrong time and another Kings loss.
The Warriors’ victory dropped Sacramento to 3-6 on the season.