The Houston Rockets had lost 15 consecutive games against the Golden State Warriors entering Wednesday, and trailing by seven with under four minutes to go, it looked as if that streak was about to get bumped up to 16.
But the Rockets, ever the fighters under second-year head coach Ime Udoka, scrapped their way back into the game. After a Jonathan Kuminga free throw gave the Warriors a 90-84 lead with 3:03 remaining on the clock, the Rockets held the Warriors scoreless the rest of the way. The problem was that they scored only five points in the first three minutes or so of that window. Facing elimination from the NBA Cup, the Rockets needed a bit of help to get the last two points they needed in order to advance to Las Vegas.
Fortunately for the Rockets, they got it and won, 91-90, in perhaps the wildest finish of the 2024-25 season so far.
The moment of truth came with 3.1 seconds left. Leading by one with the ability to drain 24 of the final 27 seconds off of the game clock, Stephen Curry instead decided to fire a 3-pointer with roughly 13 seconds on the clock. Rockets center Alperen Sengun whiffed on a chance to rebound the ball, and Gary Payton II dove to collect it. When he tried to pass the ball back out, it was stolen by Jalen Green. As Houston attempted to call a timeout, Kuminga was called for a foul on Green as he fought for the ball on the ground. Green made both free throws, and Houston took a one-point lead.
The sequence left the Warriors with 3.1 seconds to work with, but Jabari Smith blocked Brandin Podziemski's game-winning attempt. The Warriors looked around expecting a foul, but it did not come.
Steve Kerr 'stunned' by 'ridiculous' foul call
The Rockets will now go on to face the Oklahoma City Thunder in Las Vegas. The Warriors, meanwhile, are now out of the NBA Cup. And they are not happy about it.
"I've never seen a loose ball foul in a jump ball situation 80 feet from the basket with the game on the line," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. "I've never seen that. I think I saw it in college one time 30 years ago. Never seen it in the NBA. That is unconscionable. I don't even understand what just happened. Loose ball, diving on the floor 80 feet from the basket and you're gonna give a guy two free throws to decide a game when people are scrambling for the ball? Give them a timeout and let the players decide the game."
Kerr was far from done. He went on to say that the game "was taken from us by a call that I don't think an elementary school referee would have made."
"I feel for our guys. They deserved to win that game or at least have the chance for one stop at the end to finish the game," Kerr said. "And that was taken from us by a call that I don't think an elementary school referee would have made -- because that guy would have had feel and said, 'You know what? I'm not going to decide a game on a loose ball 80 feet from the basket.'"
Even for a four-time champion, elimination from the NBA Cup was a tough pill to swallow.
"I'm pissed off. I wanted to go to Las Vegas," Kerr added. "We wanted to win this Cup. We aren't going because of a loose ball foul 80 feet from the basket with the game on the line. I've never seen anything like it in my life. That was ridiculous."
The call itself was controversial as much in context as it was on its own. Prior to Green's free throws, the Warriors and Rockets had combined to attempt just 17 throughout the entire game. This was one of the most physical, defensive-oriented games of the season, and yet it concluded on a call that is rarely made anywhere in the NBA.
"The game was a complete wrestling match. They didn't call anything," Kerr said. "You've established you're not going to call anything throughout the game. It's a physical game and you're gonna call a loose ball foul in a jump ball situation with guys diving on the floor with the game on the line? This is a billion-dollar industry. You got peoples' jobs on the line. I am stunned."
Billy Kennedy, the referee who made the call, told a pool reporter the foul was warranted because Kuminga made contact "with the neck and shoulder area."
"The defender makes contact with the neck and shoulder area, warranting a personal foul to be called," Kennedy said.
Warriors had plenty of chances to win
Still, the Warriors are far from blameless. Curry's decision to shoot triggered the entire sequence. Had he merely held the ball until there was a second or two remaining on the shot clock, Houston's best-case scenario likely would have been getting the ball back with one or two seconds remaining on the game clock.
The Warriors had chances at both the rebound and the loose ball, but could never secure it. The call may have been controversial, but it was far from the only piece of that sequence that cost Golden State the game.
Now Houston has not only broken its streak against the Warriors, but will have a chance to further solidify itself as a Western Conference contender in Las Vegas. It's too early to call this a changing-of-the-guard game, but the Warriors were never going to be able to keep the Rockets down forever.
Now, Houston's breakout season has a new signature moment while the reeling Warriors will have to pick themselves up off the mat after their seventh loss in their last nine games.