Getty Al Horford of the Boston Celtics and Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors.
The Boston Celtics suffered a hard 107-88 loss to the Golden State Warriors on Sunday night. After stealing Game 1, the Celtics came crashing back down to earth in Game 2 while the Warriors displayed their championship DNA.
Though Stephen Curry led the game in scoring with 29 points, his co-star, Draymond Green, made the most noise. He was up to his usual antics, prodding some Celtics players and playing his super-aggressive brand of basketball.
After the game, Celtics big man Al Horford sent a message to Green, letting the world know that Boston doesn’t care about the way he plays. They aren’t concerned about his in-game tactics.
“I mean, he’s gonna do what he does,” Horford said. “We’re not worried about him. We’re going to do what we do, focus on us, and we just didn’t get it done tonight. We’ll be better at home in Game 3.”
Green drew a technical foul in the first quarter. And even with dust-ups with the Celtics’ Marcus Smart, Grant Williams and Jaylen Brown, he managed to avoid picking up another one.
Brown also talked about Green’s style of play after the game, providing a similar outlook to Horford’s.
Brown: ‘That’s What Draymond Green Does’
After the game, Brown was asked about Green’s physical play. And while Brown asserted that Green loves to “muck the game up,” he acknowledged that Boston just has to do a better job of matching that same physicality.
“That’s what Draymond Green does,” Brown said. “He’ll do whatever it takes to win. He’ll pull you, he’ll grab you. He’ll try to muck the game up, because that’s what he does for their team. It’s nothing to be surprised about, nothing I’m surprised about. He raised his physicality to try to stop us, and we got to raise ours. Looking forward to the challenge.”
Brown and Green got into it near the end of the second quarter. Green fouled Brown on a 3-point shot, and as the pair were on the ground, a scuffle ensued.
Neither player received a technical foul for the altercation. After the game, Brown said that Green “tried to pull my pants down” and that he didn’t “know what that was about.”
Jayson Tatum also talked about Green after the game, echoing some of Brown’s statements.
Tatum on Green: ‘I Love That About Him’
During his postgame press conference, Tatum said that he loves what Green brings to the game, but also admits that he doesn’t think the Celtics got the same whistle as the Warriors.
“We know what Draymond brings to the game,” Tatum said. “I love that about him, you know, obviously, I played with him. And, you know, we tried to match that. And I just kind of felt like, we weren’t getting the benefit of the doubt when we were trying to play with that physicality.”
Tatum and Green were teammates on Team USA during the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, earning a gold medal together. The two have remained friends since.
Boston will have another chance to match Green’s physicality in Game 3, which will take place at 9 p.m. Eastern time on Wednesday, June 8, in Boston. READ MORE.