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Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green warned the Memphis Grizzlies after what he felt they were trying to do: poke the bear.
“Maybe they were trying to get me thrown out of the game or something,” Green told reporters following their scuffle-marred 137-116 win on Wednesday, March 20, at Chase Center. “It didn’t work. Actually, it worked against them. So I don’t know.
You got to be careful when you do stuff like that because they were playing pretty well and I think at that point they were down two and then they were done after that. So you gotta be careful faking.”
Things nearly got out of hand one play after Green confronted Grizzlies big man Santi Aldama for bumping him by grabbing his jersey.
No calls were made. Game on.
Moses Moody converted a 3-pointer on the other end that put the Warriors ahead 49-47.
Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins quickly called a timeout and questioned the officials for their inaction over Green’s reaction.
Green went to hear Jenkins’ complaints to the referees. Then Grizzlies guard Desmond Bane came over to keep Green away from Jenkins and the referee. But Green pushed away Bane’s hands as players and members of the coaching staff from both teams rushed into the scene to prevent the situation from escalating.
“I didn’t really think there was a sequence. I got grabbed and my arm snatched away and I got a [technical foul],” Green said of the incident with Bane.
Green and Bane each received a technical foul then shook hands once cooler heads prevailed.
Jenkins was inadvertently knocked down to the floor during the commotion. But he told Warriors coach Steve Kerr, who checked on him after the game, that he was okay.
Warriors’ Run
After the incident, the Warriors took off.
They ended the second quarter with a 10-0 run and sat on a 68-58 halftime cushion.
“It kind of woke our team up,” Green told reporters following their scuffle-marred 137-116 win on Wednesday, March 20, at Chase Center. “We got going from there and never looked back. So shout out to them.”
Green, who already had two separate multiple-game suspensions this season, nearly had a triple-double (10 points, 12 rebounds, 7 assists).
The Warriors opened the second half with 12 unanswered points to bridge the second and third quarters with a 22-0 run.
That took the life out of the Grizzlies. The Warriors were never seriously threatened the rest of the way.
‘Fun Game to Watch’
Chris Paul put on a clinic with 14 assists while the Warriors’ pair of forwards Jonathan Kuminga and Andrew Wiggins delivered big games.
Kuminga paced the team with 26 points on 12 of 17 shooting from the floor. Wiggins added 22 and 10 rebounds for his best game since he returned from his mysterious absence due to undisclosed personal reasons.
Klay Thompson fired 23 points off the bench as the Warriors collectively took the scoring burden off Stephen Curry‘s shoulders.
Curry only took nine shots and finished with 14 points. But the Warriors superstar hit another milestone with his 300th 3-pointer, marking a record fifth season.
“It was just a fun game to watch,” Kerr told reporters.
With Paul dishing and the Warriors swishing, they made a season-high 43 assists for a much-needed win.
The Warriors (36-32) cut the 37-32 Los Angeles Lakers’ lead for the ninth seed in the West to just half-game while maintaining a 3-game lead over the Houston Rockets (33-35) for the 10th seed.
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