Draymond Green was ejected from Golden State’s 125-105 home loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night, and the Warriors forward had no desire to speak with reporters afterwards.
Draymond Green ejection news
All-Star Green — who will be 28 in March — earned two technical fouls in the loss: first for arguing with a referee at the end of the first half, then for throwing the ball at a referee (he didn’t actually hit the official) after being called for an offensive foul early in the fourth quarter.
Green now has three career ejections, and is in second place in the NBA in this category, just one behind teammate Kevin Durant.
With the two fouls he drew on Tuesday, Green also moved into first place for the most technicals this season with 13. Should he draw three more technical fouls, Green would be suspended one game.
After he drew his first foul, Green angrily argued with the referee while pointing to his bloodied mouth that he claimed was caused by Russell Westbrook striking him. However, the female official evidently didn’t want to discuss anything with him.
It seems that the official who ejected Green handed the forward his second technical foul after Green aggressively pushed the Thunder’s Spanish shooting guard Alex Abrines before catching a ball from his teammate.
Just like after his first foul, Green appeared surprised by the call and raised his hands in disbelief before leaving the court.
After the game, Green refused to speak to reporters, and when asked if he had anything to say, simply quipped: “Nah, I’m going to save my money.”
Green had five points, eight rebounds, seven assists, four blocks and five turnovers in 31 minutes.
When Steve Kerr realized Green’s mouth was bleeding after his first foul, the Warriors coach walked to the scorer’s table to speak with referee Ken Mauer, with whom Kerr talked for about five minutes.
“At halftime, I was asking Kenny if he was allowed to look at that play,” Kerr said. “I didn’t know the rule, so I was just looking for clarification because Draymond came off the floor with a bloody mouth. So I asked Kenny if they were allowed to look at it afterwards.”
The Warriors were upset with several calls made Tuesday evening, but one in particular drew major ire from fans at Oracle Arena.
In the third quarter, Westbrook drove to the basket and tripped over his own feet before falling on the floor. Official Lauren Holtkamp, who gave Green his first foul, called a foul on Andre Iguodala.
The fans in Oakland began chanting, “Ref, you suck.”
Holtkamp also called a goaltending violation on Durant after it appeared he got a clean block on Westbrook.
Steph Curry was asked about the game’s officiating, and the two-time MVP said he didn’t believe the referees were most at fault for the Warriors’ loss.
“It was a rough night,” he said. “But if we honestly are going to say they’re the reason we lost the game tonight, I think that’s off. We’ve got to look ourselves in the mirror and see what we can do to control the game, because we know that’s stuff that we can’t control. As much as we want to complain in the moment or try to argue with the refs about what they should have seen and calls not going our way, as we go down the stretch of the season and in playoffs, if that’s something that’s going to get under our skin consistently and impact our performance, we’re going to be in trouble.
“But I’ve got faith that we can overcome a tough night with the whistle and still be who we are. But, tonight was a rough one.”
Kerr echoed Curry’s sentiments.
Green recently made headlines when he responded to reporters about a question regarding comedian Dave Chappelle mentioning him in his stand-up special “Equanimity,” which was released on Netflix on Dec. 31.
In the special, Chappelle jokes about the absurdity of Rachel Dolezal, the former president of the NAACP’s Spokane, Washington chapter who caused controversy in 2015 when it was revealed she was a white woman passing herself off as black, among other lies she told.
Chappelle, who is black, joked that if anybody wanted his support, they would have to change their name to the “blackest” name he’s ever heard. Chappelle then riffs, “You’re gonna have to change your name to ‘Draymond Green,'” a line that drew raucous laughter.
Chappelle then added as part of his routine: “If you type ‘Draymond Green’ into AirBnB… that s— will log off automatically.”
Green told reporters he saw the clip and thought it was funny, but then added he wouldn’t try to get back at Chappelle in any way because he knew it would be a “losing battle” against a comic he called one of the “greats.”
Just days after “Equanimity” was released, the Warriors star did, however, tweet a captioned photo of Chappelle delivering the joke and said: “@DaveChappelle C’mon, bro, I just named my son ‘Draymond’ hahaha.”
OAKLAND, CA – JUNE 02: Draymond Green #23 of the Golden State Warriors reacts in the first half while taking on the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 1 of the 2016 NBA Finals at ORACLE Arena on June 2, 2016 in Oakland, California.
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