"How the run was setting up, we didn't have too many options. We were really lucky to get the lead at the top mark and obviously the Artemis boys got a little bit more pressure down that side on the run.
"The only way we could get back into it was to try and get them on starboard at the bottom. Full credit to all the guys on the boat for keeping working super hard and keeping the hydraulic fluid into the systems to allow us to pull off that kind of manoeuvre.
"Like any sport, you've got to play to the final whistle."
Swedish skipper Nathan Outteridge was obviously frustrated at the outcome, but stopped short of blowing up at the post-race press conference.
"It was obviously a pretty good race, such an epic battle the whole way round, and I'm sure Pete and the boys enjoyed it as much as we did, probably a bit more at the very end there," said Outteridge.
"We knew it was going to be a tight bottom mark, with a left turn to the finish, and we set ourselves up to lay the middle of the gate, so if they had an overlap, we could give them enough room.
"We were coming in pretty quick and just shaved the three-length zone. As we were approaching, it was pretty obvious from our position that we were going to make the cross, so we still gave them plenty of room to make the jibe and went around the outside.
"We were a bit shocked when the blue light came on."
Following the press conference, an official statement was made by America's Cup organisers admitting they got it wrong, however their decision on the race course stands and the result cannot be reversed.
"When they were coming down to the final gate mark, with the information we had at the time, we had Artemis Racing on port, as the keep clear boat, and Emirates Team New Zealand on starboard, and our job is to be certain that Artemis Racing were keeping clear, and we weren't at that time certain they were keeping clear," said chief umpire Richard Slater.
"We have had a discussion, we have looked at other evidence, information and data, and I think if we were to go back in time and make that call, we would green that call and not penalise Artemis."
Burling admitted that, in the frenzy of activity around the final turn, he lost track of whether he had actually hit the protest button.
"We were trying to create that port/starboard incident at the bottom mark," he said. "We were trying to get the board down and sort out a lot of other stuff at the same time, so I just hit [the button] when I could.
"I wasn't quite sure whether I had hit it, so I hit it again when I got to the high side.
"We had to round out incrdibly quick out of that jibe to avoid contact and we were pretty lucky to keep the boat upright."
The decisive call was not the only umpire intervention during this race - Sweden were also ruled to have crossed the start-line marginally early, another close call that worked in favour of Team NZ.
The two boat-length penalty gave the Kiwis an early advantage, but the Swedes were able to recover through far superior boat speed downwind, reaching 40 knots at times.
"We've actually got a lot to work on from today - we definitely weren't sailing as good as we should upwind and in the corners.
"We've got a lot to go back and review on now."
The adversaries won't have to wait long to lock horns again - Team NZ face Sweden in their only race tomorrow.
Day 3 schedule:
R13: Groupama Team France beat Ben Ainslie Racing by 53 secs
R14: Emirates Team NZ beat Team Sweden
R15: Softbank Team Japan beat Groupama Team France by 33 secs
Standings
Oracle Team USA 5 points
Emirates Team NZ 4
Land Rover BAR 3
Artemis Racing (Sweden) 2
Softbank Team Japan 2
Groupama Team France 2
