Two days after the Golden State Warriors’ Steph Curry threw his mouth guard into the stands, the NBA announced that Curry had been fined $25,000 for the incident.
Seemingly frustrated with a shot taken by teammate Jordan Poole seconds earlier in the Warriors’ 122-120 win over the Memphis Grizzlies on January 25, Curry appeared to shout an obscenity and hurl his mouth guard as he ran down the court after Poole’s missed shot attempt with a little over a minute to go in the game and the Warriors up by 2 points.
Steph was just ejected from the game after throwing his mouth piece … pic.twitter.com/b1rl7cEMXq
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) January 26, 2023
With the Warriors leading 116-114 with 1:20 left in the game and about 11 seconds on the shot clock, Poole took a 3-point attempt from about 6 feet beyond the arc as Curry, the team’s point guard and the league’s all-time leader in 3-pointers made, called for the ball.
Curry was whistled for a technical foul and ejected from the game. It was Curry’s third career ejection in 860 career games. Each one of the ejections involved an incident with Curry’s mouth guard.
The Grizzlies tied the score on the following possession, and Poole would atone for his missed 3-pointer with a game-winning layup with 2.6 seconds left in the game. With the win, and the following night’s 129-117 victory over the Toronto Raptors, the Warriors have taken four of their last six games, improving their record to 25-24, good for sixth place in the Western Conference.
Jordan Poole Mocks Stephen Curry
With the game tied and 2.6 seconds left in the fourth quarter, the Warriors were taking the ball out from under their own basket. It looked as though they were attempting to run a play for Klay Thompson to get a shot in the corner, but things broke down.
Instead, Poole capitalized on the Grizzlies’ defensive breakdown and cut to the layup. Memphis wing Ziaire Williams was out of position and was not prepared for Poole’s cut. Poole floated in a layup, making the score 122-120. The Grizzlies’ Desmond Bane missed a desperation 78-footer as time expired.
After the win, Curry waited for his teammates as they walked to the locker room. As Poole approached Curry, he appeared to mug for a photographer before performatively chucking aside his mouthpiece and hugging Curry.
Jordan Poole flung his mouthpiece before celebrating with Steph 😂
(via @NBCSWarriors)pic.twitter.com/MtoYink3yq
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) January 26, 2023
Stephen Curry Explains Frustration Before Ejection
After the game, Curry explained his actions as the result of his frustration in an intense game.
“Yeah, it was a crucial time in the game, and the way our season has gone, as you know, there’s questions about the heightened sense of urgency and about how every detail matters,” Curry said, via NBC Sports Bay Area. “You want something really bad, like just getting a win. With fourth-quarter execution, clutch-time-type of situations, 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.
Steph says he let his emotions get in the way during a big moment in the game pic.twitter.com/eDOVluK3AY
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) January 26, 2023
“But the intentions and the energy around what matters in the sense of winning — that’s what it’s about,” he said. “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. There was a lot of sense of urgency for sure, and I kind of let my emotions get in the way of it.”
