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Stephen Curry throws mouthpiece at referee, ejected from Golden State Warriors loss

By Alex Butler
Golden State Warriors' guard Stephen Curry (L) jokes with teammate Kevin Durant (R) on the bench at the American Airlines Center on March 21 in Dallas, Texas. Photo by Larry Smith/EPA
Golden State Warriors' guard Stephen Curry (L) jokes with teammate Kevin Durant (R) on the bench at the American Airlines Center on March 21 in Dallas, Texas. Photo by Larry Smith/EPA

Oct. 22 (UPI) -- NBA superstars Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant were both kicked out of a Golden State Warriors' loss after Curry chucked his mouthpiece at a referee.

Things got weird with about a minute left in Saturday's game, which the Memphis Grizzlies won 111-101 against the Warriors at FedExForum in Memphis.

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Curry drove toward the rim with about 45 seconds remaining. The Warriors trailed 107-97 at the time. He put a move on defenders at the top of the 3-point line before driving toward the hoop from the left side. He soared toward the backboard as Grizzlies guard Mike Conley pursued defensively. Conley jumped up and threw his left arm in Curry's face to contest the shot.

Curry made the shot, but then screamed at the referee because he thought he was fouled. He then chucked his mouthpiece directly at Scott Wall. He was immediately ejected from the contest. After getting kicked out, he followed Wall and continued to yell at him, before being intercepted by teammate Andre Iguodala.

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Durant was also ejected after getting involved in the verbal exchange.

Curry told reporters that he wasn't trying to hit Wall with the mouthpiece.

"I didn't throw my mouthpiece at the ref," Curry told ESPN. "I got better aim than that. I threw it out of frustration."

"That last play, I thought I got fouled, and my frustration boiled over," he said. "I did something stupid. I deserved to get kicked out, and that's what happened. Obviously, I'll learn from it and try not to do it again."

Warriors coach Steve Kerr joked about the heave after the game.

"I think he should be suspended eight, maybe 10 games for that," Kerr told reporters. "It was egregious. It was awful. It endangered thousands of people in the stands."

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This is far from the first time Curry has thrown his moutpiece during a game, as he admitted to reporters. He also did so in the 2016 NBA Finals after fouling out in a Game 6 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. He ended up hitting the son of Cavaliers minority owner Nate Forbes with that heave. Forbes was seated courtside for that contest.

Curry scored a game-high 34 points and had six rebounds and three assists in Saturday's loss. Durant netted 29 points and had 13 rebounds for the Warriors (1-2).

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