OAKLAND – Down 94-92 with 15.2 seconds left, James Harden missed a 27-foot jumper that was corralled by Draymond Green. Instead of taking their final timeout, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr elected to let his team take the ball down the court, and take advantage of Houston’s defense before they got set.
The plan didn’t exactly work, with a scattered possession leading to a contested Klay Thompson jumper with 2.2 seconds left. Thompson missed badly, and Golden State now heads back to Houston with the series tied 2-2.
So why didn’t Kerr call timeout, if not at the beginning of the possession, when he noticed it breaking down? He says the Warriors tried to
“I wanted the timeout,” Kerr said in his postgame presser. “Draymond was trying to call one around four seconds once he got trapped, and at that point the officials weren’t looking, and they’re not going to look down at our bench. I saw Draymond trying to call it and I was hoping they’d give it to us but you know, we didn’t get it. But I’m always a proponent of pushing the ball off of a miss rather than taking a timeout and letting the defense get set-up. I thought we would get a better shot in transition that’s why I let them play.”
Draymond was signaling for a timeout when Klay was stuck in the corner on that last possession ???♂️ #Warriors #Rockets #WCF pic.twitter.com/yd8uXtFYvm
— Ball Don't Stop (@balldontstop) May 23, 2018
Stephen Curry echoed Kerr’s sentiments
“I heard Draymond yelling for a timeout,” Curry said. “Klay thought he could get a shot off. It’s basketball. So many bang, bang plays.”