The final seconds of the Warriors' 91-90 NBA Cup loss to the Houston Rockets on Wednesday were full of controversial decisions.
Gary Payton II's frantic pass while flat on his stomach. The odd loose ball foul in favor of the Rockets. And, perhaps falling under the radar due to what transpired immediately after, Steph Curry's step-back 3 with nearly 10 seconds remaining on the shot clock.
After the game, Curry was asked if he went too early, or if he simply liked the look enough for it to be worthwhile.
“Both," Curry told reporters. "When you find a little bit of space, I'm going to shoot that shot all the time. And obviously, the way it went down, the 50-50 ball into an unreal loose ball foul that changed the game. So, definitely, probably a couple seconds too early.
"I like the shot. If I make it, we’re on a plane to Vegas. So I live with it, but a tough way to end."
With a three-second difference between the shot clock and game clock, the Warriors guard could have left Houston little to no time to respond had Curry waited until the last moment to get a shot off.
Golden State Warriors
It's an intriguing dilemma that likely applies to him alone.
This is Steph Curry, after all. There might not be another player on the planet who would get the same benefit of the doubt in that situation. But it's hard to call any shot Curry takes a bad one.
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Nevertheless, it appears as though he holds some regret for this choice, which set off a disastrous chain of events for the Warriors' NBA Cup title hopes.
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