The Golden State Warriors suffered a heartbreaking defeat on Wednesday night as they lost 91-90 to the Houston Rockets in the quarterfinals of the Emirates NBA Cup. It was one of the most tense and exciting games of the NBA season, and while the Warriors will spend a lot of time thinking about their 22 turnovers and scoring drought in the final three minutes, they will also spend a lot of time thinking about the referees …and probably lose a lot of money in fines too.

With the Warriors clinging to a 90-89 lead in the final seconds, Gary Payton II grabbed a missed three-pointer from Steph Curry and fell to the floor with the ball. He attempted to pass the ball to a teammate and Jonathan Kuminga was called for fouling Jalen Green while fighting for the loose ball. Green made both free throws within 3.5 seconds, giving the Rockets the win.

Whether you’re pointing the finger at the inexcusable officiating or the lack of late-game execution, you’re probably angry right now and suffering from fans’ pain. Me too. So let’s make these notes short. As always, grades are based on my expectations for each team, with a grade of “B” representing that player’s average performance.

Note: True Shooting Percentage (TS) is a scoring efficiency metric that takes three-pointers and free throws into account. Entering Wednesday’s games, the league average TS was 57.5%.

Gary Payton II

18 minutes, 4 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 2 turnovers, 1 foul, 2-for-4 shooting, 0-for-2 three-pointers, 50.0% TS, -14

Payton almost won the game with his offensive rebound in the final seconds. And many will say he should have just kept the ball on the ground instead of attempting a pass, which is a very valid criticism.

It’s a little ironic, though. Payton (who had much more contact than Green when the foul was called) likely passed the ball away, knowing that the referees always call a jump ball in this scenario, and it was unlikely that he would win that jump ball. And then, of course, the referees decided not to call the jump ball, in a tangle that Kuminga probably would have won.

Cruel game.

Payton played amazing defense and crashed the glass hard. There were some sloppy plays, but for the most part it was a really good game for him.

Grade: B+
Post-game bonus: He is tied for the team lead in rebounds, the team’s worst plus/minus.

Jonathan Kuminga

36 minutes, 20 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block, 1 turnover, 2 fouls, 8-for-20 shooting, 2-for-6 three-pointers, 2-for-6 free throws, 44.2% TS , +2

The Warriors asked Kuminga to carry the brunt of the offense in this game… arguably more than they asked Curry to do so. He started extremely aggressively and was fouled on three possessions in the first few minutes, but again struggled with his free throws.

It certainly wasn’t an efficient offensive game, but then again it wasn’t for both teams either. And Kuminga deserves credit for only scoring one turnover in such a sloppy, defense-oriented game despite leading the team within minutes. He even saved a handful of possessions from turnovers… on a night when it felt like the Warriors had set the NBA record for shot clock violations, more than one of Kuminga’s misses came when he was the only player to It seemed that the person who recognized the shot clock was about to die and raised a circus shot to try to save the day. Or when he struggled on the glass.

Good defense, good energy. Efficiency will come.

Grade: B+
Post-game bonus: Led the team in points and tied for the lead in rebounds.

Draymond Green

30 minutes, 8 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 5 turnovers, 4 fouls, 4-for-9 shooting, 0-for-2 three-pointers, 44.4% TS, -2

Two things can be true. Green was the main reason the Warriors had such a turnover-heavy game, and Green may have had the best individual defensive performance in the NBA this year. Even as the Warriors’ offense faded over time, it felt like they were winning because it didn’t seem possible that the Rockets could score with Green on the court. It turns out the secret was having a sixth player out there.

I would say that turnovers and defense cancel each other out.

Grade: B

Buddy Hield

35 minutes, 15 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals, 3 blocks, 1 turnover, 3 fouls, 6-for-12 shooting, 3-for-9 three-pointers, 62.5% TS, +9

The Warriors lost three of the four quarters. They almost won because they won the third quarter 32-24. Hield was arguably the best player on the court during this time, scoring 11 points and providing the necessary momentum.

He may never be a good defensive player per se, but having five sticks certainly makes his work on that end of the field palatable.

Grade: A
Post-game bonus: Best plus/minus on the team.

Steph Curry

34 minutes, 19 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 1 turnover, 8-for-17 shooting, 3-for-9 three-pointers, 0-for-1 free throws, 54.5% TS , +4

A very strange game for Curry. On the one hand, it wasn’t his usual efficient performance; On the other hand, Steph took excellent care of the ball in a game where the Warriors couldn’t stop turning the ball over.

He had some of the best plays on offense in the fourth quarter and also had some possessions on defense. But he also made a truly shocking decision. With less than four seconds difference between the game clock and the shot clock and the Warriors leading by one point, Curry went for a dagger step-back three-pointer… which he hit with nine seconds left on the shot clock.

Had Curry waited seven or eight more seconds, the ball would have been in the air long enough — both on its way to the basket and as it bounced off it — that time likely would have expired before Houston got off a shot. Just a really bad decision.

Grade: C
Post-game bonus: Led the team in assists.

Lindy Waters III

28 minutes, 8 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 3 turnovers, 3-for-6 shooting, 2-for-4 three-pointers, 66.7% TS, -3

Waters had a big role in this game, and he played it quite well. He was on the court for much of the fourth quarter, helping the team maintain the lead until Curry and Green returned from the bench. His shot came back in this game and his defense was strong, although he also had some reckless turnovers.

Grade: B+

Brandin Podziemski

31 minutes, 8 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 1 turnover, 3-for-9 shooting, 2-for-5 three-pointers, 44.4% TS, +4

By no means a perfect game from Podziemski. But he was in the final lineup, and for a reason. His energy was groundbreaking at times. And like Kuminga, some of his misses were desperate shots to save the team…including a blocked three-pointer at the buzzer that I’d damn well love to see from a different perspective.

Grade: B-

Kevon Looney

11 minutes, 2 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 foul, 1-for-3 shooting, 33.3% TS, -4

Looney didn’t see much action against a hyper-athletic Houston team, but damn did he once again put in a ton of work on the glass. Mr. Reliable.

Grade: B+
Post-game bonus: It is tied with the team lead in rebounds.

Kyle Anderson

4 minutes, 0 points, 1 turnover, 0-on-1 shooting, 0.0% TS, -5

A small role for Slo Mo, in a game that just didn’t suit him.

Grade: C

Trayce Jackson Davis

15 minutes, 4 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 2 blocks, 1v1 shooting, 2v2 free throws, 106.4% TS, +3

I wasn’t sure if TJD would play in this game after not playing in the last contest and Green starting again at five. But in the end, Jackson-Davis was exactly what the doctor ordered for some lineups, showing some explosiveness around the rim on both offense and defense. I need to get more rebounds, but I was impressed.

Grade: B+

Pat Spencer

3 minutes, 2 points, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1-for-2 shooting, 0-for-1 three-pointers, 50.0% TS, +1

Spencer had a surprise few minutes as the team went down and Kerr had to find a button to press. And Spencer did exactly what he was supposed to do, made some good plays and brought some offense to the team.

Grade: A

Refs

Even if you’re okay with a loose ball foul being called instead of a jump ball in this scenario (which you shouldn’t be), then you can certainly agree that Payton was assigned significantly more contact than Kuminga was given to Jalen Green. And missing the foul on Curry’s three-pointer early in the quarter completely changed the direction of the game.

The Warriors lost largely because they didn’t play well enough. However, this does not change the performance of the referees.

Grade: F-

DNPs from Wednesday: Gui Santos
Inactive on Wednesday: Reece Beekman, De’Anthony Melton, Moses Moody, Quinten Post, Andrew Wiggins