Stephen Curry ejected for throwing mouthpiece toward referee as Golden State Warriors lose
Kevin Durant also rejected after arguing with official as Memphis Grizzlies hand NBA champions their second loss in three games
Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry was ejected late in the fourth quarter of his team’s loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday night for throwing his mouthpiece in the direction of an official. The two-time MVP appeared to be angry that the official didn’t call a foul on his lay-up attempt.
Kevin Durant was also ejected from the game, which the defending champions lost, 111-101, dropping their record to 1-2 for the season.
Stephen Curry was ejected for throwing his mouthpiece in the general direction of the referee. pic.twitter.com/I5AA6MVuhu— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) October 22, 2017
“I didn’t throw my mouthpiece at the ref. I got better aim than that. I threw it out of frustration,” Curry told ESPN.
Curry had 37 points in the contest. Durant had 29 points and 13 rebounds.
“I think he should be suspended eight, maybe 10 games for that,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said sarcastically after the game.
“It was egregious, it was awful, endangered thousands of people in the stands.”
Asked to explain what happened, Durant said: “I felt Steph got fouled on that drive and I let [the referee] know about it and he threw me out.”
Durant could be seen pointing to an extended finger on his left hand as he was walking off the court, but after the game said he was showing the fans in Memphis his ring finger.
“I’m sure everybody thinks I’m the angry black athlete so I’ve got to put my middle finger up, but no, I put the ring finger up,” Durant said.
This isn’t the first mouthpiece-throwing incident for Curry. He was ejected during Game 6 of the 2016 NBA Finals for throwing his mouthpiece toward the stands. It was, at the time, the first ejection of his career.
