Warriors vs. Cavs 2017: Refs Causing Confusion In NBA Finals?

Game 4 of the NBA Finals was loaded with storylines. The Cleveland Cavaliers managed to extend the series with a lopsided home victory over the Golden State Warriors, but the final score took a bit of a backseat to other incidents. There was pushing, shoving and lots of acting. And referees in a daze, overwhelmed by it all.

There were some blown calls, as well. Cavs guard Kyrie Irving clearly was part of a backcourt violation but the three referees missed it.

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But the bigger incident involved Warriors enforcer Draymond Green, who is known for passionately expressing his grievances on the court. Green was thought to have been handed a technical foul in the first quarter, but it was actually Warriors coach Steve Kerr who was hit with it. When Green was given a technical foul in the third quarter, many assumed he was getting ejected.

The second technical should have resulted in Green’s ejection, but he remained on the court. In the midst of the bewilderment, the referees explained that the technical in the first half was given to Kerr even though Green appeared to be the one yelling and contesting the loudest. The official scoresheet indicated that the technical had been on Green.

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“When the technical foul was called on Draymond Green, we reported it to the table. The table informed us that it was his second technical foul and ejected [Green]. We informed the table that it was not his second technical foul,” crew chief Mike Callahan said in a report.

The mix-up started with referee John Goble calling a loose ball foul against Green during the first quarter. Green got upset, as well as Kerr. Goble handed Kerr a technical foul. Most in attendance seemed to think Quicken Loans Arena thought Green got it, including everyone working at the scorer’s table. Goble spoke up and excepted blame for the error.

“I noticed the reaction by Coach Kerr and then assessed the technical foul,” Goble said. “I thought I had verbalized to the table that the technical foul was on Coach Kerr. … I should have done a better job of making sure that the table knew the technical foul was on Coach Kerr.”

Naturally, Green argued when he got the technical in the third quarter, but he was well aware that it was only his first.

“The first tech was on Steve, which I didn’t understand. Mike Callahan came up to John [Goble] and asked him who was the tech on, and he said Kerr,” Green explained. “I knew I didn’t have a technical foul. But still trying to figure out why did I get the second one.”

According to ESPN’s reporter Doris Burke, the official scorers said they remembered the refs saying the tech was on Green. After the game, Kerr said he thought the first tech was issued to Green. The NBA ended up revising the official scoresheet.