Warriors’ Stephen Curry criticizes officials after 116-109 loss to Heat

On Tuesday night, Stephen Curry was convinced the officials made a bad call late in the fourth quarter of the Golden State Warriors’ 116-109 loss to the Miami Heat.

With 1:39 remaining in the fourth quarter and the Heat up by three, Jimmy Butler was called for a foul while trying to block Curry’s 3-point attempt. Butler made contact with Curry’s fingers, leading to an air ball.

Per multiple NBA betting sites, the Warriors still have the third-highest odds to win the championship in 2023. However, some sportsbooks show better odds for the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Clippers.

Coach's Challenge (MIA): foul assessed to Butler in Q4 of #GSWatMIA. Ruling: Successful challenge, call overturned due to clear + conclusive evidence of no foul (Butler made contact w/ ball + then made incidental "high five" contact w/ Curry), MIA ball due to imminent possession. pic.twitter.com/43p4V0Pmf5

— NBA Official (@NBAOfficial) November 2, 2022

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra then decided to challenge the call. As a result, Spoelstra won the challenge, and the call was overturned. Down by three and losing possession, it was a crucial call for the Warriors.

After the game, Curry discussed his thoughts on the outcome. “It was an awful call,” explained the eight-time All-Star. “What did you think I was going to say?

I was walking to the free-throw line, thinking I was going to get three free throws and even the score with a minute and some change left.”

Warriors guard Stephen Curry says the officials made ‘an awful call’ by overturning Jimmy Butler’s foul

Curry also thought Butler made more than “high-five” contact. “It was a tough one,” continued the Warriors guard. “I clearly felt a lot of contact. I don’t know what they saw besides the high-five contact they talked about.

But you got to be allowed to finish your motion. That’s what I felt like. Especially when you slow it down to slo-mo, it’s pretty clear there was a lot of contact. But what do I know about calls?”

Steph believes it was an "awful call" to overturn the foul on his 3-pointer pic.twitter.com/xzvmWZvJrz

— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) November 2, 2022

Of course, Curry finished his performance with a triple-double. The guard amassed 23 points, 13 rebounds, and 13 assists in 35 minutes of action. He finished 7-of-14 shooting from the field and 4-of-10 from beyond the arc.

Even if the officials didn’t overturn the call, this was not a game the Warriors deserved to win. They were outscored 30-15 in the fourth quarter. Klay Thompson and Jordan Poole were also held to under 20 points.

In addition to finishing with 20 turnovers, Golden State shot 36.7% from outside the arc. Now, they’re working towards snapping a three-game losing streak. The Warriors play the Magic on Thursday night at 7 p.m. ET.