Getty Draymond Green talks to Marcus Smart during Game 2 of the NBA Finals.
The growing animosity between the Boston Celtics and Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals is now extending beyond the players to include their immediate family members as well.
After a series of testy exchanges on the court involving Golden State’s Draymond Green, the sister of Celtics big man Al Horford took to Twitter to sound off. Her comments come just a few days after Green appeared to discredit some unlikely performances from Horford and other members of the Celtics in Game 1, which drew a defensive response from some of Boston’s players.
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Horford Takes Aim at Green
Green had some tense moments early in Sunday’s Game 2, getting hit with a technical foul after a shoving match with Celtics forward Grant Williams early in the first quarter. He came close to a second technical and an automatic ejection later when he and Jaylen Brown got tangled up following a physical play.
Draymond and Grant Williams getting chippy 👀
Warriors teammate Jordan Poole narrowly avoided his own technical foul later after getting tangled up with Derrick White. The Celtics guard tried to jump over the fallen Poole, who raised his arms and ended up tripping White. Poole was initially assessed a technical foul, but officials rescinded it after review.
The series of plays didn’t sit well with Anna Horford, Al’s sister, who took to Twitter to accuse both Green and Poole of dirty play.
And Poole has followed his lead. Lmao
After blowing a 12-point fourth-quarter lead in a Game 1 loss, the Warriors flipped the script in Game 2. Like they did three days earlier, the Warriors opened a double-digit lead toward the end of the third quarter, but this time left no chance for a Celtics comeback as they cruised to a 107-88 victory.
Green Calls Out Celtics
The animosity from Anna Horford could trace back to Green’s postgame comments following Game 1, when he seemed to downplay her brother’s performance. Playing in his first-ever NBA Finals game, Al Horford exploded for 26 points on 9-of-12 shooting, including 6-of-8 from behind the three-point line.
But after the game, Green insinuated that his performance and the red-hot shooting from other unlikely Celtics players was something closer to a fluke.
“They hit 21 threes, and Marcus Smart and Al Horford and Derrick White combined for 15 of them,” Green said. “The guys are good shooters, but they combined for, what, 15 out of 8. Smart, 7, 8, 15-for-23. My math right? 8, 7, and 8. Yeah, that’s 23, right. Yeah, 15-for-23 from those guys, eh, you know, so, we’ll be fine.”
Steph knew Draymond was going to come out amped up tonight 😂
White responded to Green’s remark, saying it was their plan to attack the Warriors from deep and they executed it perfectly in Game 1.
“I mean, we knew what their game plan was going in, so it’s just up to us to make shots. I mean, it is what it is,” White said.
Celtics teammate Payton Pritchard also got defensive over Green’s statement.
“I’m not really listening to all that,” told reporters on June 4, the eve of Game 2. “I don’t think any of us are. We’re all NBA players at the end of the day, so we’re all capable of getting hot and making shots. I’ve seen those guys, D-White and Al, put in the work, so I know what they’re capable of.”
Green’s comments seemed to be correct in regard to Sunday’s game. Horford and Smart each scored only 2 points, while White had 12. After making 15 three-pointers collectively in Game 1, the trio combined for just two in Game 2.
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