Aside from Chris Paul’s ejection, Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr also took exception to the irritating in-game entertainment music at Footprint Center.
“In this building, you can’t hear anything because it’s like a club,” Kerr told reporters after the Warriors’ 123-115 loss to the Phoenix Suns. “It’s like a South Beach Club. What are we doing?”
His comment elicited laughter from the reporters.
“I’m being dead serious. Like I couldn’t hear anything out there. It’s just the whole game, there’s thumping techno club music. Can we just have a basketball game anymore? What the hell? Sorry for the rant,” Kerr added.
Paul’s ejection took a toll on an already shorthanded Warriors team as they lost steam in the second half.
Kerr believed Paul did not deserve his ejection. He drew a technical foul for defending his point guard against the game’s crew chief Scott Foster.
“I think Scott just felt like Chris didn’t stop and he kept going,” Kerr said. “And that’s why he gave him the second one. So that was his explanation.”
“Well, I didn’t think Chris deserved to be ejected. The first [technical foul], absolutely [he deserved it], but I thought the second one was unnecessary. Everybody gets frustrated out there but that’s up to the official,” he added.
What added color to the incident is the long-running feud between Paul and Foster.
“It’s personal,” Paul said of Foster’s beef with him which dates back to his Los Angeles Clippers days. “We had a situation some years ago, and it’s personal.”
“The league knows, everybody knows, and it’s been a meeting and all that. It’s a situation with my son and so, yeah. I’m OK with a ref talking, saying whatever, just don’t use a tech to get your point across. I gotta do a better job making sure I stay on the floor for my teammates. But, yeah, that’s that.”
Steve Kerr Rues Warriors’ Fouling Spree
Kerr was pleased with his team’s fightback in the second half. The Warriors’ second unit overhauled several double-digit leads and came within 118-115 in the final 19 seconds. But the huge free throw disparity did them in.
“Foul, foul, foul, foul,” Kerr lamented. “You can’t win in the NBA if you’re constantly trying to attack a set defense after free throws and you’re basically giving up 44 points.”
The Warriors gave up a season-high 52 free throw attempts to the Suns.
Former Warrior Kevin Durant hit 15 of 15 at the stripes. Devin Booker missed only once in his 14 trips to overcome a rough 5-of-15 shooting night.
The Warriors only had 29 trips to the free-throw line and missed 10.
Klay Thompson Begins to Heat up
If there was a silver lining to the Warriors’ ninth loss in 16 starts, it was Klay Thompson continuing to find his rhythm.
Thompson hit a season-high six 3-pointers en route to a team-high 23 points. He shot 8-of-17 overall for his second straight 20-point game.
Over his last two games, Thompson averaged 21.5 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists while shooting 46% from the field and 52% from downtown.
Before heating up, Thompson had a string of five games shooting below 42%.
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Steve Kerr Slams Suns’ Arena Music, Defends Chris Paul