Steve Kerr rips officials after Game 6 and says he is 'happy' Stephen Curry threw mouthpiece that hit a fan
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The NBA Finals is now tied and heading back to Oakland for Game 7 after Cleveland won Game 6 in dominating fashion.
The big story coming out of the game is how Stephen Curry lost his cool down the stretch, fouling out and then getting ejected when he threw his mouthpiece and hit a fan.
After the game, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr was asked about Curry losing his composure. Kerr then ripped into the officiating for calling touch fouls in the NBA Finals on the league MVP.
"He had every right to be upset," Kerr said. "He's the MVP of the league. He gets six fouls called on him. Three of them were absolutely ridiculous. He steals the ball from Kyrie [Irving] clean at one point. LeBron flops on the last one. [Referee] Jason Phillips falls for that, for a flop. This is the MVP of the league we're talking about. These touch fouls in the NBA Finals. Let me be clear. We did not lose because of the officiating. They totally outplayed us. Cleveland deserved to win. But those three, three of the six fouls, were incredibly inappropriate calls for anybody, much less the MVP of the league."
Kerr was then asked if he was OK with Curry throwing his mouthpiece. Kerr didn't hesitate, completely condoning the move.
"Yeah, I'm happy he threw his mouthpiece," Kerr said. "He should be upset. Look, it's the Finals. Everybody is competing out there. There are fouls on every play. It's a physical game ... if they're going to let Cleveland grab and hold these guys constantly on their cuts and then you're going to call these ticky-tack fouls on the MVP of the league to foul him out, I don't agree with that."
It is unclear if Kerr knew at the time of these comments that the mouthpiece hit a fan.
Here is the play where Curry threw his mouthpiece.
At this point, Kerr is likely willing to take any fine the NBA is going to hand down for his criticism of the officiating. But at the same time, he probably feels the need to send a message to the league office to explain Curry's actions and to let them know that they weren't unprovoked.
Still, a player can't be losing his cool and hitting fans with thrown objects. If this wasn't the league MVP and Game 7 on the line, it is probably an automatic suspension. But considering what is at stake, it will be interesting to see how this is handled.
Here are Kerr's comments.