Steve Kerr Didn't Blast The Officials From Last Night's Game Because His Mom Was In The Building

Steve Kerr had an excellent reason to not go on another long-winded rant about NBA officiating last night.

The Golden State Warriors head coach watched his team lose a double-overtime thriller against the Los Angeles Lakers, 145-144. The loss unfortunately spoiled an evening in which the franchise honored assistant coach Dejan Milojevic, who died of a heart attack last week.

During the game, the visitors outshot the Warriors at the free-throw line 43-16. Naturally, this statistic bugged Kerr, who takes every opportunity to complain about officials who don’t call a game the way he prefers.

But last night, he chose to significantly tone down his criticism of the referees.

What could tame one of the NBA’s chief complainers in his postgame press conference? Kerr told reporters that his mom attended the game and therefore wanted to display some extra class.

"I might comment on the free throws that they shot, but my mom is here right now and I want to be on my best behavior,” Kerr said.

A mother’s presence has a way of motivating people to act in the best way possible - even if you’re 58 years old.

Kerr still did find a way to throw some thinly-veiled shade in the referee’s direction. After all, what would a postgame presser be without some sort of complaint at the referees?

“I’m not going to comment on the 43 free throws to our 16. I’m not going to comment on Steph (Curry) shooting three free throws in 43 minutes. I’m not going to comment on that,” Kerr said.

Sure, that's still an obvious complaint. But it’s certainly not like what we’ve seen from him in the past. He really meant it when he said he didn't want to disappoint his mom.

Maybe we should get Mrs. Kerr in every postgame press conference from here on out.