Stephen Curry Ejected, Hits Fan With Mouthguard In Warriors’ 115-101 Game 6 Loss To Cavs

Stephen Curry and coach Steve Kerr are both likely to face fines after protesting officiating in the Golden State Warriors’ 115-10 Game 6 road loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday night.

Stephen Curry Ejected, Hits Fan With Mouthguard

Curry was automatically ejected for throwing his mouthguard into the crowd with 4:22 left in the game after being called for his disqualifying sixth foul. The mouthpiece just so happened to hit the son of one of the Cavs’ minority owners, who was sitting in the front row. It was the first time the 28-year-old MVP had fouled out since December 2013.

Curry could probably receive a fine, as is NBA precedent in these situations, and not a suspension, according to league sources. His technical foul came on LeBron James, who got the ball after the Cavs’ Tristan Thompson got his hands on a deflected rebound as Cleveland led 99-87.

“I’ve thrown my mouthpiece before,” Curry said. “I usually aim at the scorer’s table. I was off aim. Definitely didn’t mean to throw it at a fan. “That was obviously not where I was trying to take my frustration out.”

Curry was upset about several fouls that were called against him throughout the game, as was Kerr, who defended his star point guard and added he was happy that Curry reacted by hurling his mouthguard.

“He had every right to be upset. He’s the MVP of the league. He gets six fouls called on him; three of them were absolutely ridiculous,” Kerr said. “He steals the ball from Kyrie [Irving] clean at one point. LeBron [James] flops on the last one. [Referee] Jason Phillips falls for that for a flop. As the MVP of the league, we’re talking about these touch fouls in the NBA Finals.”

Kerr then said he wanted to make clear that he still believed the Cavs deserved to win because they had outplayed the Warriors, but that he stood by his belief that three of the six fouls called on Curry were wrongly called.

Calling out an official by name typically merits a fine.

Curry’s wife Ayesha also expressed her frustration on Twitter, saying: “I’ve lost all respect sorry this is absolutely rigged for money… Or ratings I’m not sure which. I won’t be silent . Just saw it live sry.”

She later deleted the tweet and apologized in a follow-up tweet.

Curry apologized to the fan hit by the mouthpiece–Andrew Forbes, son of Cavs minority owner Nate Forbes– and the two shook hands.

“It’s all good,” Andrew Forbes told ESPN’s Tom Haberstroh. “It just hit me, and I was like, ‘Who? What?’ I was just cheering, being a fan. I don’t even know where he was throwing it. … He was good about it.”

James dropped 41 points for the second consecutive game to lead the Cavs to victory and tie the final series 3-3.

Curry finished with 30 points, and Klay Thompson had 15 points and 16 rebounds.

James also added 11 assists and eight rebounds, and Kyrie Irving scored 23 points.

“LeBron being LeBron, he’s one of the greatest players of all-time,” Cavs head coach Tyronn Lue said.

The Warriors struggled from the get-go, starting a weak 2-for-18 on 3-pointers. Curry was 5-for-10 from three to start the game.

After a terrible first half, Thompson went on a surge in the third quarter, scoring 15 on 6-for-7 shooting to pull the Warriors within 11. Golden State then reduced their deficit to six, but James responded by scoring 10 points in the first five minutes of the fourth after throwing down a massive dunk in the third that led to thunderous applause at Cleveland’s Quicken Loans Arena.

Only two teams had ever forced a seventh game at the Finals after falling behind 3-1 and the last time had been in 1966.

“It’s going to be the hardest thing we’ve ever done,” Irving said after the game of going into Oakland and winning again.

Game 7 is set for Sunday at Oracle Arena.

PHOTO: CLEVELAND, OH – JUNE 16: Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors shakes hands with fans after throwing his mouthguard in the fourth quarter against the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 6 of the 2016 NBA Finals at Quicken Loans Arena on June 16, 2016 in Cleveland, Ohio.

Article by Pablo Mena