The Warriors and Clippers didn’t disappoint after another OT thriller between the Thunder and Grizzlies. While it looked like the Dubs weren’t getting enough shooting from their splash brothers backcourt to keep it close, Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry turned it around in the fourth, and had a chance to tie or go for the win in the final 7.9 seconds. The question is whether Curry was fouled by Chris Paul during Steph’s step-back three-pointer to end the game?
With 7.8 seconds left and the Warriors down 98-96, the ball came in to Curry in the middle of the court. He has an opening to drive right for the tie, but he goes left, and steps back beyond the arc (though there’s some question as to whether the tip of his sneaker was on the line) only to fire up an airball.
While watching on television, fueled only by adrenalin and Camels (we miss sleep), we thought Chris Paul’s defense was totally legit.
But after repeated viewings from different angles and the grumbly excoriations by Charles Barkley following the game (everyone on “Inside the NBA” thought it was a foul), it appears CP3 got Steph down low on the body with his left arm.
CP3 is a master of this sort of stuff, and while the power of the push is still in question, Paul’s definitely got his left forearm pressed squarely in Curry’s gut as he’s attempting the shot. Further State Farm ads together might be awkward, but “all’s fair in love and basketball.”
Curry is a pretty good shooter from behind the arc, and beyond, sporting a 44 percent career mark from from deep. The fact Steph’s final attempt didn’t touch iron should have set off some alarms and is the final piece of evidencePaul’s contact was more than just incidental. But you should tell us what you think in the comments because we could make an argument either way.
Based off Curry’s resume and the GIF above, we think CP3 got enough of his left forearm on Steph, while he was in the act of shooting, to warrant a foul and three (or two — depending on whether his toe touched the line) foul shots, which probably would have given us a Warriors win or the second OT game of the night. For our own sleep-deprived sanity, we’re glad it didn’t, but tell that to Warriors fans.
Did Chris Paul foul Stephen Curry?
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