INGLEWOOD – One day after Steve Kerr was ejected for arguing multiple calls, the NBA asserted that officiating actually favored his Warriors down the stretch of their 103-102 loss to the Clippers.
Kerr was thrown out after Gary Payton II’s blocked layup was not called a goaltend, something the guard later called a “missed call” and came shortly after Curry’s and-1 jump shot was waved off.
Lead official Brian Forte later told pool reporter Tomer Azarly that Payton’s layup should have been a goaltend, but defended throwing out Kerr, who he said was directing profanities toward the officials.
Kerr had to be restrained by Payton and assistant coaches Terry Stotts and Kris Weems.
Stotts took over for Kerr and watched as the Warriors made a spirited comeback.
However, it was during this time that the league believed the Warriors actually got away with multiple offenses.
All three involved Draymond Green, who injured his ribs, ankle and left wrist during a rough-and-tumble night.
According to the NBA’s “Last Two Minute” report, Green should have been assessed an offensive foul with 1:40 left in the game for a moving screen on Kris Dunn of the Clippers.
Then, at both 1:23 and the 55-second mark, Green’s camping in the paint should have resulted in a defensive three-second violation and a Clippers free throw.
“Green (GSW) is in the paint for longer than three seconds without imminently actively guarding an opponent,” the report read.
It was an ironic development for Green, who was thrown out of the previous game against the Jazz for vehemently arguing that Utah’s Kyle Filipowski had not been called for three seconds in the lane.
In all, the league’s report reviewed 23 fouls, called, no-calls and missed, and found that the only three incorrectly officiated instances involved Green. The calls that incensed Kerr occurred around the 8-minute mark, so they were not included in the review, so Forte’s admission of the missed call will have to suffice for Warriors fans.
Green finished the game with only one personal foul, but Steph Curry fouled out with 42 seconds, a rarity for the Warriors star.
The Warriors (19-18) will play at home against Milwaukee on Wednesday (7 p.m., NBC Sports Bay Area).
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