A dejected Stephen Curry was ejected from the Warriors’ Wednesday night game after teammate Jordan Poole missed a shot late in the 122–120 victory over the Grizzlies.
With a little more than a minute left in Golden State’s matchup against Memphis, a wide-open Curry motioned to Poole to pass him the ball. Instead, Poole took a questionable three-pointer—and missed. Curry couldn’t contain his palpable anger and threw his mouthguard while running back on defense. Consequentially, he was issued a technical foul and ejected from the game.
Following the dub, Poole was asked what he read from the eight-time All-Star’s ejection and its consequences. Seemingly unaware Curry’s mouthguard hurl was because of his missed attempt, Poole backed his teammate.
“There was no reason he should be thrown out in the last three minutes of the game,” Poole said. “He’s one of the greatest players of all time, I don’t know what happened, think something to do with his mouthpiece but guys buckled down, we just found a to get a big win at home against a really good team.”
The two seemed in good spirits in the tunnel following the win. A video surfaced showing Curry waiting in the tunnel as Poole walked toward him. Poole then threw his mouthguard against the wall—mocking Curry’s move—and the pair hugged.
Curry was asked about the move and the third ejection of his career following the game. Because he didn’t hit anyone, he thought he shouldn’t have been ejected. He also explained his reasoning behind the game-ending move.
“It was a crucial time in the game, and the way that our season has gone, questions about a heightened sense of urgency … when you want something really bad … I reacted in a way that put myself out of the game and put the team in a tough place,” Curry said after the game, via ESPN.
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Poole ended up getting his redemption—the 23-year-old made a clutch layup with two seconds left in the game to break the tie. Poole finished the night with 21 points, seven assists and five rebounds while Curry notched a game-high 34 points, three assists and two rebounds.
The Warriors are 24–24 and ranked eighth in the Western Conference.
