Warriors instant analysis: Steve Kerr ejected, Steph Curry fouls out in loss to Clippers

INGLEWOOD – Steve Kerr had finally had enough. After watching Steph Curry’s shot not count as an and-1, and then Gary Payton II’s blocked layup by John Collins not called as a goaltend early in the fourth quarter, the longtime Warriors coach lost it once there was a stoppage on a Curry foul.

He berated the referees to such a degree that the usually mild-mannered coach had to be restrained by members of his staff at Intuit Dome on Monday. The officials gave him technical fouls in rapid succession, and Kerr had to make the long walk back to the locker room with 7:57 left in the game after being ejected for the fifth time in his career and first time since Mar. 28, 2022.

Terry Stotts, who coached Portland for nine seasons between 2012-21, took over as acting coach. He saw out a spirited effort that ultimately fell short as the Warriors lost 103-102 to a Clippers team missing James Harden.

Golden State shot just 3 of 24 in the third quarter, but somehow remained in the game thanks to 10-2 run to start the fourth, a run fueled by the energy of Payton and Gui Santos. And after Kerr’s ejection, the Warriors remained competitive and trailed 94-90 with 3:06 left after Jimmy Butler made two free throws in front of the Clippers Wall of fans.

Curry cut the lead to just 101-100 with 1:05 left after his 3-pointer bounced off the rim and in, but he fouled out when he swiped down on Kris Dunn’s arm on the very next possession. Dunn’s two free throw extended the lead back to three points with 43 seconds remaining. Green’s layup made it 103-102  with 33 seconds on the clock.

Kawhi Leonard missed a long 3-pointer, and the Warriors had the ball with seven seconds remaining. Jimmy Butler’s fadeaway from the baseline went long and the Clippers held on.

Curry put up 27 points for the Warriors, while Jimmy Butler scored 24 and Draymond Green put up 12 assists. Kawhi Leonard put up 24 points, and Kobe Sanders had 20 points. The Warriors actually had fewer turnovers than the point guard-less Clippers, winning the margin 20-7.

The hosts led 31-19 after one quarter, but the Warriors cut the deficit to just 55-51 at halftime. This came despite Golden State being a ghastly 5 of 22 from behind the arc. The team finished 10 of 41 from behind the line. 

The Warriors (19-18) begin an eight-game homestand against Milwaukee on Wednesday. 

Draymond Green’s rough night

Having been ejected from Monday’s game and having not finished three of the past eight games, Draymond Green was under a microscope Wednesday night. 

After diving into the Warriors bench late in the second quarter, a crash that left his ribs bruised, he left the game but returned after halftime. That lasted all of two minutes, with Green leaving the game again after rolling his left ankle after defending a Leonard drive. He returned after the timeout. 

Green drew a few groans from the mostly pro-Warriors crowd in SoCal when he took and missed a 3-pointer on three of the first four Golden State possessions, but he was an overwhelming positive overall. 

Green finished the first half with a plus-11 in the box score, after being in the negative in 9 of his last 11 games. Despite giving up at least five inches and around 50 pounds on Ivica Zubac, Green used his low center of gravity to make it difficult for the Croatian center to get good position. 

Stopping Kawhi

Leonard, who entered the game with arguably the hottest hand in the NBA. He won the conference player of the week honor after averaging 41.3 points per game last week, which he supplemented by maintaining his NBA-best 2.17 steals per game. 

The Warriors initially began the game in single coverage against the two-time Finals MVP, which led to him scoring 10 first-quarter points. But when they began to send doubles his way, usually asking a guard to dig down, that left Nic Batum open for back-to-back corner 3-pointers. 

The only consistently positive outcomes for Warrior defenders came when they forced the midrange assassin to take a few steps back. Leonard was 0 of 6 from behind the arc in the first half. Leonard took only one 3-point shot in the second half. 

Snoop Dogg stars

Legendary rapper Snoop Dogg made his broadcasting debut when he joined the NBA on NBC television production as a commentator. The Long Beach native has plenty of fans among the Warriors, including coach Steve Kerr and Moody.

Kerr joked about Snoop’s presence around the Olympic team in 2024 and said he looked forward to his pre-production meeting with the man. Moody, who counted “Gin and Juice” as his favorite Snoop track, saw the rapper’s presence at the regular-season NBA game as a positive.

“I really like the niche that he’s carved out for himself now in the business space,” Moody said. “I like what he adds, and it’s cool to see it on the NBA stage.”