Steve Kerr found himself at the center of some heated drama last month when he had to be physically restrained by players and coaches. The Golden State Warriors head coach was livid with the officiating during their 119-115 loss to the Denver Nuggets on December 4. With just 5.1 seconds left in the game, Kerr unloaded on the referees, expressing his frustration over a controversial call. His fiery reaction left no doubt about how he felt, and it added an extra layer of tension to an already intense matchup. And today, it happened again.
The Warriors are battling the Sacramento Kings for the rivals’ week. And Kerr is frustrated. Gui Santos tried to pass the ball between Domantas Sabonis’s legs, but the ball hit his legs. From where Kerr was standing, it could’ve looked like he kicked it. It wasn’t a foul.
The Warriors coach was already frustrated with Golden State giving up their lead and was filled with rage. He aggressively walked to talk to the referee about it and wasn’t backing down. In fact, he had to be held back by his staff. Again. And in this process he received a tech!
The Kings erased an 18-point deficit with a dominant third quarter, outscoring their opponents 37-20 to completely flip the momentum, which further added to Kerr’s woes. Golden State’s lights-out shooting from beyond the arc couldn’t stop them.
Instead, they dug deep defensively in the second half, ramping up the pressure and turning those stops into fast-break points. It’s honestly been awesome watching them shift the momentum like this, especially under Doug Christie’s leadership.
The Warriors looked like a completely different team in the second half
Golden State had a commanding lead early, with their three-point barrage and tight defense. But things flipped dramatically in the second half.
The Kings’ defensive pressure was off the charts, forcing 8 turnovers in the third. Steph Curry, usually the one creating shots, dished out a season-high 12 assists but couldn’t get anything going offensively. Meanwhile, DeMar DeRozan put on a show, scoring 24 of his 32 points in the second half, giving the Kings the edge.
Steve Kerr made adjustments, hoping to spark something. He swapped in Buddy Hield and Kevon Looney to start, and gave Quinten Post and Gui Santos some bench minutes. The Warriors hit 12 threes in the first half and looked great, but that hot shooting faded fast. When the threes stopped falling, the Kings went on a run, tying things up and eventually pulling away.
By the final stretch, Sacramento had the game in hand, and Golden State couldn’t catch up. Curry’s late attempt to take control was met with double-teams, and De’Aaron Fox nailed a clutch jumper to seal the deal. This was one of those games where small mistakes—like turnovers and missed shots—end up costing you big. The Warriors looked great at times, but in the end, the Kings just had more closers.
