Sacramento Kings' Late Foul Under Scrutiny as NBA Investigates Potential Tactical Error The NBA is examining whether a controversial late-game foul called by Sacramento Kings coach Doug Christie during Tuesday’s loss to the Golden State Warriors was a strategic misstep rather than an intentional tanking tactic. According to sources familiar with the situation, Christie’s decision to foul Seth Curry with 3:15 remaining in the game was a miscalculation, not a deliberate effort to lose. The Kings were leading by one at the time, and Christie’s plan to use a timeout before the clock dropped below three minutes backfired when the Warriors were already in the penalty. The foul was intended to disrupt the Warriors’ rhythm, but sources explained that Christie failed to account for Curry’s high free-throw accuracy (86.4%) and the fact that the Warriors were already in the bonus. This meant fouling Curry would send him to the line, where he could potentially extend the Kings’ lead. Instead, the Kings lost 110-105, with Curry making one of two free throws to tie the game at 101. Christie then called an out-of-timeout play for a 3-point shot by Doug McDermott, which succeeded in giving Sacramento a three-point lead. However, the Kings eventually relinquished that advantage in the final minutes, dropping to 21-59 and tying the Utah Jazz for the league’s fourth-worst record. The incident gained further attention after the game when Warriors forward Draymond Green criticized the Kings’ approach during a postgame exchange about the NBA’s tanking epidemic. Green, who has previously spoken out against perceived tanking strategies, accused the Kings of intentionally losing the game. “I saw a team tonight foul Seth Curry with three minutes to go for no reason,” Green said. “I get fined when I do wrong.#sacramento_kings #golden_state_warriors #draymond_green #doug_christie #seth_curry
