OAKLAND, Calif. _ Steve Kerr had no issue Monday with the $25,000 fine the NBA levied against him for his verbal abuse of referee Bill Spooner.
But the Warriors coach joked that he should have gotten more bang for his buck. Kerr said assistant coach Mike Brown was too overzealous in holding him back.
"All I wanted to do was get a view of the official when I yell. Mike acts like I'm going to go and try to tackle somebody," Kerr said with a laugh. "We're going to have to work this thing out a little bit better."
Kerr lost his cool in Sacramento on Saturday night, when the Warriors were on en route to a mistake-filled 109-106 overtime loss to the Kings.
Kevon Looney was called for a questionable rebounding foul and Draymond Green got called for a technical in the ensuing argument. Kerr delivered the grand finale by storming the court with a profane tirade. That got him ejected with 3:34 to play in the third quarter.
Brown succeeded in slowing Kerr's body, but there was nothing he could do about his mouth.
"Yeah, I knew I was going to get fined. I deserve it. I do feel bad for my words," said Kerr, who is planning a personal apology to Spooner. "I don't mind the explosion. I think we're all entitled to snap once in a while. But I used inappropriate words."
The foul calls were hardly the only source of frustration for the Warriors, who will try go get back on track Wednesday against the Chicago Bulls (25-26).
Against the Kings, the Warriors looked lethargic at both ends of the floor and Kevin Durant had his worst game of the season. Durant was 2 for 10 from the field, including 0 of 6 from 3-point range, and didn't even take a shot over the final 10 minutes.
Durant had company in his off-night. Kerr called it one of the Warriors' worst games of the season.
"We're 43-8, so they're haven't been many to choose from," he said. "We've had a great season and we've gotten better and better. We just had a hiccup the other night.
"Were not engaged defensively and we were a little bit scattered offensively. We were kind of in a rush. We took some bad shots. We had some bad possessions and it cost us."
The bad look extended to the sidelines, where cameras caught Warriors players doing some jawing at each other. Durant and Green had words after an ugly looking sequence that ended in an airball.
"We had a bad one," Kerr said. "It happens. Eight-two games, it's impossible to be perfect. ... That's the great thing with our team: We've consistently responded after every bad game. I'm sure we'll respond Wednesday."
