Warriors coach Steve Kerr was ejected at halftime of Monday 123-95 blowout loss against the Memphis Grizzlies.
Golden State got off to an awful start and trailed 63-37 by the time Kerr had been ejected. On his way to the locker room, Kerr became very aggressive and frustrated with officials before his team had to hold him back. He got served two technicals before being tossed from the game.
The Warriors have been struggling lately, losing six of their past seven since Steph Curry sprained his left foot. Golden State looked completely outmatched in the second quarter, getting outscored 43-21, so maybe it was more than just some foul calls that were bothering Kerr.
"I know once he goes, there ain't no stopping him," center Kevon Looney said of Kerr.
Desmond Bane shot a couple of free throws to begin the third quarter before Mike Brown took over as the head coach for the rest of the game.
After the game, Brown spoke to reporters instead of Kerr and tried to spin the ejection in a positive light.
"Everybody was a little down because we were getting our behinds kicked and then our head coach gets kicked out at that time," Brown said. "But I thought Steve did a fantastic job addressing the team and trying to get them fired up. Our guys came out in the second half and carried that over. They competed. I thought there was some bright signs from the second half based on Steve’s fire and his passion, and what he said to the guys in the locker room trying to keep their spirits up. Also challenging them to bring a physical presence and compete like we know we’re capable of."
Credit to Brown for trying to find a silver lining, but Monday night was simply a dud.
The Warriors were outscored 60-58 in the second half, which was a more competitive on paper. In reality it felt like 24 minutes of garbage time. Golden State never threatened the Grizzlies and trailed by as many as 37 in the final period.
The Warriors wrapped up their road trip with one win in five tries and have played five games in seven days. It seems like the playoffs can't come soon enough. It won't get any easier though, Up next on Wednesday, the Warriors will host the Phoenix Suns, who are 61-14 and have already clinched the NBA's best record.
