The Golden State Warriors weren't at their best against the L.A. Clippers at the Intuit Dome on Monday night, but any chance they did have at victory was significantly impacted by a pair of momentum-killing refereeing decisions early in the fourth-quarter.
The Warriors never got going offensively in what resulted as a loss, yet they still had a chance down only four with nine minutes remaining in the fourth-quarter. What followed was a deflating 60-second sequence that left Golden State minus their head coach, with an irate Steve Kerr blasting the officials before being ejected from the floor.
Warriors were screwed over by two refereeing decisions early in the fourth
After not scoring a single field goal in the final eight minutes of the third-quarter, the Warriors started the fourth on a 10-2 run to pull within four. That could have been reduced to one when a potential Stephen Curry and-one was wiped away with the foul called on the floor, with Golden State subsequently not scoring on the possession and John Collins pouring salt into the wound with a 3-pointer on the other end.
That man Collins then appeared to goal-tend a layup from Gary Payton II on the next possession, only for the officials to miss a blatant call as Kris Dunn got fouled on the other end. Kerr let the referees know in a fiery outburst, suddenly leaving the Clippers back up 10 and with assistant Terry Stotts in control.
An irate Steve Kerr gets ejected, and he was right pic.twitter.com/aLPng8DPfM
— Dalton Johnson (@DaltonJ_Johnson) January 6, 2026
That lead rose to 13 with under five minutes to play, but the Warriors battled back again with some big Curry threes down the stretch. The 2x MVP then fouled out in the final minute, but Golden State still had a chance to win it at the buzzer on the final possession.
Jimmy Butler wasn't close on his fade-away game-winning attempt, leaving the Warriors short again in another clutch time loss. With such a close result, you can't wonder what would have happened had even one of those back-to-back calls gone in Golden State's favor, not to mention the Clippers were given two free-throws as a result of Kerr's technical fouls.
Curry started slow yet finished with 27 points, six assists and three steals, though shot only 4-of-15 from 3-point range. Draymond Green went 0-of-6 from beyond the arc as he was left wide open by the Clippers, yet the veteran forward did add 12 assists and committed only one turnover in 32 minutes.
Butler had 24 points and four steals on 9-of-11 shooting from the free-throw line, but shot only 7-of-16 from the floor as the Warriors shot just 38% as a team and 24.4% from 3-point range.
It's another frustrating loss for a team that remains stuck around .500 at 19-18 on the season, but at least the Warriors can look forward to an eight-game home stand starting with the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday.