Report: Warriors' Steve Kerr Fined $25K for Screaming at Ref vs. Trail Blazers
Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr has been fined $25,000 for "verbally abusing and confronting" an official during Wednesday's 129-107 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium.
Kerr was ejected late in the fourth quarter after slamming a clipboard following the officials' decision to assess a flagrant foul on Warriors forward Draymond Green:
Initially, Green was whistled for a common foul as he attempted to prevent Trail Blazers center Zach Collins from getting to the rim:
However, after reviewing the play, the officials opted to upgrade the foul to flagrant. That decision left Green feeling targeted.
"I got a lot of ball," Green said after the game. "I don't know. It's the Draymond rule."
Not only did Kerr defend his player on the court in real time, but he also showed his support during his postgame media session.
"I was just shocked that it was called a flagrant foul," Kerr said. "That was head-scratching that could be called a flagrant foul. I mean, the guy's going to go up for a dunk, you got to make sure he doesn't dunk it. So I told Kenny I beg to differ. ... There might've been a couple of other words in there, too."
That proved to be a pivotal moment in the game. Portland held a 110-103 lead at the time of the foul. But Green's technical and flagrant fouls and Kerr's technical foul resulted in five free-throw attempts for the Trail Blazers. Damian Lillard and Collins combined to go five-for-five from the line, and Portland never looked back.
The Trail Blazers put the game away by outscoring the Warriors 19-4 over the course of the final four minutes.
