Steve Kerr “angry” and “pissed” over missing a timeout in the final seconds of the Warriors’ loss to the Nuggets

The Golden State Warriors lost their NBA Cup game to the Denver Nuggets 119-115 on Tuesday night, and head coach Steve Kerr wasn’t happy with the way it ended. Speaking to the media after the loss, he was upset about a crucial missed call in the closing moments of the game.

Kerr believes the officials missed Nuggets guard Christian Braun, who called a timeout after diving for a loose ball in the final five seconds of the game. A player calling a timeout isn’t usually a big deal unless your team is out of timeouts – and the Nuggets were all out of TOs when Braun made the request with his hands.

Kerr saw it (as did a number of other players) and frantically started yelling and waving at the referees and calling for a technical foul, which is the penalty when a player tries to call a timeout that his team doesn’t have. It would have given the Warriors a free throw and possession, which could have changed the game, as they trailed 119-115 at the time. But instead of a technical, the referees called for a jump ball with just 1.9 seconds left on the clock, and the 4th quarter ended with no more points.

The first question Kerr was asked after the game was about the referees’ crucial omission.

Team manager Tyler Ford told a pool reporter after the game that it wasn’t entirely clear what Braun was doing, so he called for a jump ball instead of calling the Nuggets a technical foul.

“Christian Braun never fully or clearly signaled a timeout,” Ford said, via ESPN. “That’s why no timeout was detected.”

Unsurprisingly, Braun said he didn’t call for a timeout, although he admitted it may have looked like he did.

“Maybe that’s what it looked like. I fumbled the ball on the ground a little bit,” Braun said. “My hands were moving, but the referees didn’t say so.”

The game was close throughout, but the Warriors had managed to open a 10-point lead with seven minutes left in the fourth quarter. Thanks to a 23:9 run in the final seven minutes, the Nuggets managed to erase that deficit and secure the win.

A win would have meant the Warriors could have stayed home and hosted the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Cup quarterfinals next week. Instead, they pack up and head to Texas to play the Houston Rockets.