Following a 27-game absence due to a knee injury, Golden State Warriors star Steph Curryreturned to action against the Houston Rockets on Sunday night.
Curry came off the bench but impressed with 29 points on 11-of-21 shooting. He also shot 5-of-10 from deep and recorded four assists in 26 minutes on the court. The two-time NBA MVP also had a big play in the fourth quarter, as he drained a triple with 57.4 seconds left to cut the Rockets' lead to just one.
The Warriors still ended up losing 117-116, although Curry's return certainly gave the Dubs a reason to be optimistic as they prepare for the Play-In Tournament.
William Liang-Imagn Images
It is interesting to note, however, that there was an issue with Curry and the Warriors' loss to the Rockets. The NBA's Last Two Minute Report indicated a critical incorrect non-call that benefited Houston.
With under 1:30 remaining in the fourth quarter, Curry scored on a tough layup after taking advantage of a defensive miscommunication from the Rockets. Amen Thompson tried to stop him, but to no avail.
However, Curry fell to the floor following the shot after being seemingly hit by Thompson during the play. No foul was called despite the Warriors star asking for it, and the play continued.
The NBA deemed that a shooting foul should have been called on Thompson since he had "body contact" on Curry as he was making the shot.
"Thompson (HOU) jumps from A to B and initiates body contact with Curry (GSW) as he defends the shot," the NBA L2M Report explained.
Had it been called, Curry would have gotten an extra free throw for the chance to tie the game at 112-112 at that point.
There were two other incorrect non-calls in the game, both of which were defensive three-second violations. The first one involved Alperen Sengun with around 1:10 remaining, while the second was on Draymond Green with under 40 seconds left.
Regardless, there's no denying that the missed foul call on Curry was critical since the game ended with just a one-point margin. Now, Golden State fans can only wonder what could have been had the referees not made that mistake.
