Stephen Curry was saved from making one of the biggest mistakes in NBA Playoffs history
Time is winding down in a game with huge implications. The star player has the ball, and with time running down and the opposing team running to trap the ball handler, he calls a timeout so the team can regroup. The only problem is that the player's team doesn't have any timeout left, and now they have been called for a technical because of that player blunder. You may think I am describing the infamous timeout call by Chris Webber in the 1993 college basketball national championship game between Michigan and North Carolina.
But I am not. Instead, the above described play happened on Sunday afternoon when Golden State Warriors superstar Steph Curry called a timeout in the final minute of a tightly contested Game 4 before the Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings even though the Warriors had none left.
With 42.4 seconds left and the Warriors up five, Curry tried to bring the ball upcourt and was immediately doubled by Harrison Barnes and Davion Mitchell. Curry seeing the double coming, called a timeout, but the Warriors had used all their timeouts.
Steph Curry called a timeout when the Warriors had no timeouts left
The Kings were given a technical free throw and possession of the ball down only 5 points pic.twitter.com/SR9FBELSn1 — ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) April 23, 2023
Curry spoke about the blunder after the game.
"I didn't realize when we lost the challenge that we didn't have any timeouts left," Curry explained after Sunday's thriller, per ESPN's Kendra Andrews. "[Coach] took the blame for it, but I ain't going to lie: I thought it was the smartest play in the world. I looked at the bench, and everybody was shaking their head. It was an unfortunate situation."
That meant the Sacramento Kings would get one technical foul shot and possession of the ball. That is the absolute worst-case scenario if you are the Warriors. Not only did the Kings make the free throw, but De'Aaron Fox nailed a 29-foot 3-pointer to cut the lead down to one.
This brings us to the second bad mistake by Curry. After the Fox 3-pointer, there were 28 seconds left in the game. The Kings decided to play it out and not foul. Instead of dribbling down the clock, Curry decided to take a 16-foot mid-range shot with 14 seconds still on the clock.
The Kings secured the rebound and called a timeout. The Warriors did a great job of trapping Fox, which made him give the ball up to a wide-open former Warrior, Harrison Barnes, who did what he had done most of the game, which is miss (1-6 from 3-point range). The game was over, and the series is now tied at 2-2 instead of a much bigger 3-1 hole for the defending champions.
Had Barnes made that open buzzer-beating three, Curry's timeout mistake may have gone down as one of the biggest blunders in playoff history. No, it wasn't the championship game like Webber's mishap, and it is the first round, but there is a vast difference between being down 1-3 instead of 2-2 heading back to Sacramento.
Steve Kerr took the blame for the timeout mistake, for what it is worth.
Steve Kerr blames himself for the timeout gaffe late. Said he needed to relay to everyone they had no timeouts left. pic.twitter.com/04qsIkdd15 — Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) April 23, 2023
Regardless of Kerr taking the blame, if the Kings went on to win, Curry would have received the most criticism about the mental lapse that cost them the game. But with Barnes's miss, Curry's timeout fiasco will probably be a footnote in playoff history.
Source: SB Nation
