Steph Curry’s Chris Webber moment nearly costs the Warriors their Game 4 win over Kings

Steph Curry has come up clutch time and again for the Golden State Warriors during their dynastic run, but even he is not perfect. His Chris Webber moment in the final minute on Sunday nearly cost the Warriors in their narrow 126-125 Game 4 win over the Sacramento Kings. 

With 2:14 remaining, Kevon Looney was called for an offensive foul on a moving screen. Warriors head coach Steve Kerr decided to challenge, but he was unsuccessful which left the Warriors with zero timeouts for the remainder of the game. That’s a long time to go without a timeout, especially in the NBA, and Curry clearly didn’t know that was the case. 

Because with 42.4 seconds to play, Curry was facing a double-team in the backcourt and looked to the ref to call a timeout. The Warriors were up 126-121 at that point, and on the way their way to the win. But when you call a timeout you don’t have, the penalty is steep: in addition to receiving a technical foul, the other team is awarded possession of the ball. 

Malik Monk stepped to the line and hit the technical free throw to cut the deficit to 126-122. On the ensuing possession, De’Aaron Fox drained a 3-pointer to make it a one-point game at 126-125. 

All of a sudden, the Kings didn’t even have to foul to get the ball back. Which is just what happened when Curry missed a floater. (He probably went a bit quick, but that was a minor mistake compared to the timeout incident.) Thankfully for Curry and the Warriors, he was let off the hook when Harrison Barnes missed an open 3 at the buzzer that would have won the game for the Kings. 

 Afterwards, the rest of the Warriors refused to let Curry take all the blame for the error. 

“It was 100 percent my fault. I knew we didn’t have any timeouts left,” Kerr said. “That’s on me. I’ve gotta remind the guys we don’t have any timeouts.”

Draymond Green, meanwhile, said he should have been there as a passing option so Curry didn’t have to take a timeout: “I know everyone will blame Steph and say oh he called the timeout, but I’m supposed to trail the play and not leave him on an island”

If the Kings had ended up winning and taken a 3-1 series lead, Curry’s gaffe would have gone down as an all-timer that we would remember forever. Instead, it will be a footnote in his storied career.