Warriors vs. Suns referee report: Were all three incorrect calls against the Warriors? Curry scores 14 in the final quarter to narrowly lead his team to victory

On December 22nd Beijing time, the NBA officially released the referee report for the last two minutes of the Warriors vs. Suns game. The report revealed three officiating errors in the final two minutes: one incorrect call and two missed calls, all seemingly disadvantaging the Warriors. Despite this, Curry scored 14 points in the fourth quarter, leading the Warriors to a narrow 119-114 victory over the Suns.

The first error was an incorrect call that happened with 50.6 seconds remaining. According to the referee report, Warriors’ Jackson-Davis jumped high and absorbed contact from Suns’ Booker. While attempting a block, he deliberately avoided Booker’s arm and no contact occurred. The referees called a defensive foul on the Warriors, awarding Booker a 2+1 opportunity, which was a wrong call since the defense was clean. The Warriors were disadvantaged and the Suns benefited.

The second was a missed call occurring with 9.1 seconds left. The report stated that Booker pushed Curry and a foul should have been called, but the referees did not blow the whistle. This missed call also worked against the Warriors. At that moment, with less than 10 seconds remaining and the Suns trailing by one point, Booker’s primary intention was likely to steal the ball, but he probably planned to commit a deliberate foul to stop the clock and force Curry to shoot free throws. However, since no whistle was blown, Curry ended up scoring on a layup.

The third missed call happened with 2.2 seconds remaining. The report explained that Suns’ Gillespie’s pass hit teammate O’Neal’s hand and then rolled to the backcourt. At this point, Suns’ Booker illegally regained possession, which should have been called as a backcourt violation, but the referees did not signal a foul. Of course, the final deep three-point attempt missed.

Curry exploded for 14 points in the fourth quarter, finishing the game with 28 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 assists. Booker scored 38 points and provided 5 assists despite the loss.