Steve Kerr found Nikola Jokic's habit of marching to the free-throw line annoying.
The Golden State coach believes that the NBA doesn't consistently reward defence enough these days.
The Denver Nuggets held off the Warriors 120-114 on Monday to extend their winning streak to five games. Jokic overcame a poor shooting day by finishing 18 of 18 from the free-throw line.
Jokic only shot 4 of 12 from the field, but he still finished with 26 points. With his 18 made free throws, he set a career high. The Nuggets made 26 out of 32 free throws overall.
“I have no problem with the officials themselves,” Kerr said after the game. “I have a problem with the way we are legislating defense out of the game. That’s what we’re doing. The way we’re teaching officials, we’re just enabling to players to (fool) their way to the foul line. If I was a fan, I wouldn’t have wanted to watch the second half of that game. It was disgusting.
“It was just baiting refs into calls. But the refs have to make those calls because that’s how they’re taught.”
Kevon Looney and youngster Trayce Jackson-Davis alternated in their attempts to restrict Jokic, who lacked his usual touch around the rim. Jokic made up for it by approaching the queue sooner and acting more forcefully.
“He gets fouled a lot. He gets beat up down there,” explained Jamal Murray, who scored a game-high 28 points. “It’s hard to call every foul, I understand. They can only do so much.”
Kerr said that players are “smart in this league. Over the last decade, they’ve gotten smarter and smarter. We have enabled the players and they’re taking full advantage and it’s a parade to the free-throw line. It’s disgusting to watch.”
“When there’s physicality, it’s tough because it’s inconsistent at times on either side,” said Curry, who took a while to warm up and didn't score until the middle of the second quarter before stepping it up to 18 points in the end.
“A night like tonight, you feel like there’s physicality on one side and then kind of ticky-tack on the other and then they get into the bonus and it changes the (complexion) of the game. It’s not like we don’t foul. I’m not saying that.
"It was tough tonight, slowed the whole game down. (Jokic) made every free throw and changed the momentum, played into their hands.”
Jokic added eight assists and 14 rebounds.
In an overtime victory over Phoenix the previous Christmas, the Nuggets big man went off for 41 points, 15 rebounds, and 15 assists.
With Michael Porter Jr. (19 points, 10 rebounds) and Aaron Gordon (16 points, 10 rebounds) both recording double-doubles, all five Denver starters scored in double figures.
Nine lead changes occurred throughout the game's back-and-forth second half. With 5:16 left, Jokic's left-handed hook shot gave Denver the lead for good.
“We closed the fourth and we had a lot of guys step up and make timely plays down the stretch of a close game,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “Winning makes a world of difference.”
After missing two games due to illness, Andrew Wiggins returned to the court and scored 22 points, which provided the Warriors a boost.
Golden State has a Christmas game for the eleventh year running.
Following Draymond Green's indefinite suspension for striking Phoenix centre Jusuf Nurkic in the face, the Warriors improved to 5-2. Prior to the game, Kerr stated that Green had largely avoided the spotlight throughout his ban. Kerr continued by saying he has communicated with the coaches and the training staff.
Next up
Warriors: Play Miami on Thursday to start a seven-game homestand.
Nuggets: This Thursday, they host Memphis.