Steve Kerr certainly is glad the Warriors pulled out a thrilling 122-120 win over their rival Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night at Chase Center, but he also knows his superstar Steph Curry can't let his emotions get the best of him.
Curry was ejected with 1:14 remaining in regulation after tossing his mouthpiece into the stands, a reaction to an ill-advised 3-point shot from Jordan Poole after an offensive rebound reset the shot clock.
Shortly after the win, Kerr spoke to reporters and addressed Curry's mouthpiece toss.
"I didn't see what happened at the time, so when the ref called it, I was confused and then the coaches told me he threw the mouthpiece down out of anger," Kerr said. "And I guess he threw it into the stands? On the side, yeah. So I think that's an automatic ejection. He knows he can't make that mistake again. But I was really proud of the guys. They fought through and executed down the stretch and got us the win."
The first question to Curry after the game was about the incident and he explained why he was so upset in that moment.
"Crucial time in the game and the way our season has gone," Curry told reporters. "There's questions about the heightened sense of urgency of every detail matters. When you want something so bad like getting the win and in the fourth quarter, execution, clutch situation, all that stuff does matter, so I reacted in a way that obviously put myself out of the game and put the team in a tough place.
"But the intentions and the energy around what matters in the sense of winning, that's what it's all about. Thankfully my teammates responded extremely well. Klay [Thompson] with a big shot. JP with the game-winner at the end. Execution was great. We needed that one, so there was a sense of urgency for sure. Kind of let my emotions get in the way of it."
At the time of Curry's ejection, he had a game-high 34 points, including 10 in the fourth quarter and the Warriors had a two-point lead. Luckily for everyone involved, Poole's miscalculation didn't cost them the game.
Poole ended up being the hero of the game as he made the game-winning layup with one second left on the clock.
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Everyone likely will learn lessons from what transpired Wednesday night.