The Warriors were furious with the officials following their 131-130 overtime loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night, and their frustration extended to the social media realm.
Trailing by three with 4.4 seconds left in overtime, Kevin Durant caught the ball, turned and drilled a 3-pointer to tie the game while being fouled by T'Wolves swingman Keita Bates-Diop. But official Marat Kogut said the foul occurred before Durant was in the shooting motion, nullifying the game-tying triple. The Warriors would tie the game seconds later on a Steph Curry 3-pointer, with Curry, Durant and other Warriors pointing in Kogut's face as they headed back to the bench.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
The Warriors were victims of another puzzling call on the ensuing inbounds play with 0.5 seconds remaining, and this one would cost them the game. Anthony Tolliver threw a lob for Karl-Anthony Towns that soared over the big man's head, but head official Leon Wood whistled Durant for a foul that sent Towns to the free throw line to give Minnesota the win.
Curry, Durant and head coach Steve Kerr took shots at the officials after the game, especially Kogut, who Curry called "the MVP."
After his press conference, Curry took another dig at Kogut on Instagram when he commented on a post that showed the Warriors star getting slapped in the heel while shooting a 3-pointer in overtime.
https://twitter.com/warriorsworld/status/1111868833554292737
Golden State Warriors
Find the latest Golden State Warriors news, highlights, analysis and more with NBC Sports Bay Area and California.
Durant also threw some shade at the officials on Instagram after the game, directing his ire at Wood.
The officiating Friday night in Minnesota infuriated the Warriors, but they should lay the blame for the loss partially at their own feet, Golden State held a 14-point lead at halftime and led by as many as 19 points in the third quarter. The Warriors can point their fingers at Kogut and Wood for the reason they left Minnesota with a loss, but the game shouldn't have gotten to that point in the first place.
[RELATED: Steph and KD rip refs after loss to T'Wolves]
With the loss, the Warriors are now tied with the Denver Nuggets for the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference. The Dubs have been frustratingly inconsistent since the All-Star break and the loss in Minnesota, regardless of officiating, is another example of that. They have two weeks to clean things up before the NBA playoffs begin.
There's no reason to expect they won't be fine once the bright lights come, as long as Kogut isn't officiating their games, that is.