Steph Curry wears oven mitt in response to 'hot stove contact' ruling originally appeared on nbcsportsbayarea.com You have to hand it to Steph Curry. He's not letting this one go. Heading into the Warriors' Sunday game against the Hornets, Curry still was heated about the way Golden State's previous contest ended. So heated, in fact, that he required an oven mitt just to enter Oracle Arena. Steph's ready for hot-stove contact ♨️ pic.twitter.com/TX0mGYrIhg — Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) March 31, 2019 That's right, in a direct reference to the ridiculous "hot stove contact" ruling the NBA handed down Saturday, Curry stayed on theme. It doesn't take a mind reader to deduce that Curry clearly believes Minnesota's Josh Okogie not only made significant contact with his ankle on a 3-point attempt late in the fourth quarter of Friday's controversial loss to the Timberwolves, but that it was intentional, as well. Based on the video, it's hard to argue otherwise. Warriors coach Steve Kerr was asked Sunday about the "hot stove contact" at his pregame press conference, and he, too, still was at a loss for words. "I'm still trying to learn the definition of a 'hot stove' call," Kerr jokingly said to the media. "As soon as somebody tells me what that means, maybe I'll comment on it." Heading into Sunday's game, the Warriors were tied with the Nuggets for the top seed in the Western Conference, so there's still plenty at stake for them throughout the remainder of the regular season. But the fact that Curry, Kerr and others still are looking back should tell you everything you need to know about how their previous game was officiated.<doc-sep>Four days after the Warriors voiced their displeasure with officiating after an overtime loss in Minnesota, the NBA announced Tuesday afternoon that it had fined three Golden State players. Draymond Green has been fined $35,000 for what the league described as “making statements on social media” that “impugned the integrity of NBA officiating.” Although Green didn’t speak to reporters after a couple of calls doomed the Warriors late in overtime against the Timberwolves, he did tweet “TD” followed by “MK.” The cryptic tweets prompted speculation that he was trying to compare Marat Kogut — the referee behind the controversial calls in Minnesota — to Tim Donaghy, the notorious former NBA official who allegedly bet on games. Kogut also assessed Green a technical — his 15th of the season, one shy of a league-mandated, one-game suspension — early in the third quarter. Stephen Curry was fined $25,000 for “his actions and public statements impugning the integrity of NBA officiating.” During his postgame news conference Friday, Curry called Kogut the game’s MVP. “The fact that Draymond (Green) got a tech for saying, ‘Oh, we can’t talk to y’all tonight?’ is kind of embarrassing in terms of we’re supposed to have that communication,” Curry said. “No one’s being demonstrative or disrespectful in any sense. In this league, there’s going to be back-and-forth and emotions in high-intensity competition. As long as you’re not cussing somebody out or being disrespectful, that communication should be there.” Kevin Durant was fined $15,000 for his comments, which included saying sarcastically that Kogut “is so good with the whistle that he knew they were going to foul me and he called it right before I shot the ball. So, he’s one of the greatest refs of all time.” Interactive How Curry's 3-point shooting changed the game Stephen Curry has not only led a Warriors resurgence since entering the league, he has changed the game with his long-distance shooting. In its release announcing the fines, the NBA said that its “investigation into this matter included the review of player conduct that took place through Sunday, March 31, and the ultimate findings were determined after verifying all available information.” Connor Letourneau is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: cletourneau@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @Con_Chron<doc-sep>The NBA came down hard on Draymond Green, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant on Tuesday for their criticisms of the officiating in a recent loss, fining the three Warriors stars a combined $75,000. Green paid the biggest price in the aftermath of Friday’s bitter loss in Minnesota in which Golden State felt poor officiating led to its loss. The outspoken forward was fined $35,000 for his comments on social media “which impugned the integrity of NBA officiating,” the league announced. Green tweeted referee Marat Kogut’s initials followed by a tweet of disgraced ex-official Tim Donaghy, who was accused of fixing NBA games. Curry was hit with a $25,000 fine for his gestures toward the referees as well as his postgame comments, while Durant must pay $15,000 for his criticisms of the calls, said Kiki VanDeWeghe, the NBA’s Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations. “Not surprised,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said before Tuesday’s game against the Denver Nuggets at Oracle Arena. “We know the rules. We know how this works. Our guys knew what was coming.” The Warriors were angered by two calls in the final 5 1/2 seconds, beginning with Kogut’s call that denied Durant a potential game-winning four-point play. Kogut whistled a foul on Minnesota but waved off Durant’s 3-pointer when he ruled the foul occurred before his shooting motion began. Curry, though, earned the Warriors a tie with 0.5 seconds left when he drained a 3-pointer in the corner. However, the league on Tuesday penalized Curry for gesturing toward Kogut after the shot as well as the two-time MVP’s comment that the official “was the MVP” of the game. Nonetheless, Durant said that Kogut was “the best player on the floor.” The worst call, according to the Warriors, may have been the foul called on Durant with 0.5 seconds left when he bumped Karl-Anthony Towns while a lob pass sailed 10 feet above their heads. Towns hit a free throw and then missed intentionally to seal the victory as the clock ran out. In its two-minute report released Saturday, the NBA stood by both controversial calls.<doc-sep>
A trio of Golden State Warriors starters were hit with fines by the NBA on Tuesday. Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, and Draymond Green were all fined for criticizing the league's officials following the team's 131-130 loss to the Timberwolves in Minnesota last Friday night. Green was fined the most at $35,000, despite the fact that his apparent infraction came via a pair of cryptic messages on Twitter, while Curry's fine was $25,000, and Durant's was the least at $15,000 following the public comments made by the two after their loss in Minnesota. From the NBA: "Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green has been fined $35,000 for making statements on social media which impugned the integrity of NBA officiating; Warriors guard Stephen Curry has been fined $25,000 for his actions and public statements impugning the integrity of NBA officiating; and Warriors forward Kevin Durant has been fined $15,000 for public criticism of the officiating, it was announced Tuesday by Kiki VanDeWeghe, Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations. The NBA’s investigation into this matter included the review of player conduct that took place through Sunday, March 31, and the ultimate findings were determined after verifying all available information. The actions of all three players occurred at various points during and following the Warriors’ 131-130 overtime loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on March 29 at Target Center." You can see the comments from Curry and Durant below: Steph went in on the refs ?? pic.twitter.com/3rdbHV54gb — Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) March 30, 2019 "I want to keep my money cause they gave me two bullsh*t techs... let me just stop talking about the officiating." pic.twitter.com/ZsRa113K72 — Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) March 30, 2019 Green's Tweets - which seem to compare referee Marat Kogut to disgraced former NBA ref Tim Donaghy, who was busted for betting on games - can also be seen below: TD — Draymond Green (@Money23Green) March 30, 2019 MK — Draymond Green (@Money23Green) March 30, 2019 It's rare that you see three players on the same team all get fined for criticizing the refs at the same time, but the Warriors clearly felt very strongly about the way that their loss to the Wolves was officiated. We'll find out soon enough whether or not these fines change the way the Warriors' three stars interact with the officials when they take the floor on Tuesday night for their highly-anticipated matchup with the Denver Nuggets. Should the Warriors come out on top this evening, they will all but assure themselves of securing the top seed in the Western Conference playoffs while a victory by the Nuggets could make things much more interesting over the course of their remaining regular season schedules.