Warriors' Gary Payton II makes 'dumb' admission after collapse vs. Rockets

12/12/2024 11:44 AM

The Golden State Warriors took a tough loss that was decided in the final seconds against the Houston Rockets, as they’ve been eliminated from the NBA Cup. Down one point with 11 seconds remaining in the game, Stephen Curry missed a three-pointer and Gary Payton II grabbed the offensive rebound while on the ground. He then threw the ball out which caused another squirmish on the floor, but instead of a jump ball, the referees called a foul on the Warriors and Jalen Green went to the free-throw line.

That put the Rockets up three points, and though the Warriors had a chance to take the game into overtime, they missed the shot.

After the game, Payton opened up about grabbing the offensive rebound and throwing it out.

"Dumb play by me,” Payton said, via Warriors reporter Dalton Johnson.

Though many would say that was the deciding factor of the game, the Warriors were up 90-84 with a little over three minutes remaining in the game and didn’t score for the rest of the quarter. The Rockets played great defense down the stretch and executed on offense, and it looked like they were hungry for the win.

Steve Kerr blasts refs after Warriors lost

After the game, head coach Steve Kerr made sure to let everyone know how he felt about the call at the end of the game that gave the Rockets free throws instead of it being a jump ball.

"I've never seen a loose ball foul on a jump ball situation 80-feet from the basket with the game on the line… I think I saw it in college one time 30 years ago, never in the NBA," Kerr said, via Brett Siegel, ClutchPoints NBA insider. "That is… unconscionable. I don't even understand what just happened.

"I'm stunned. I'm stunned… I don't think an elementary school (official) would've made that call in that game."

There’s no doubt that Kerr will be looking at a fine in the coming days, but many think that it was a strange call from the refs at the end of a tight game. Instead of blaming the refs, Stephen Curry took the high road and blamed the loss on himself.

"The pattern of scoreless droughts down the stretch has to be addressed or else we’ll be a mediocre team,"Curry said after the game, via Anthony Slater on X, formerly Twitter. "I’ll take responsibility for not being able to get us organized and not being able to finish plays. Ball’s in my hands. I got to make shots."

The Warriors have had hiccups on offense throughout the season, but the hope is that they don’t become a natural occurrence.

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