Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr admits that Draymond Green has a tendency to get very passionate with referees while arguing his cause, but believes the big man stayed on the right side of the line on Sunday before being handed a costly ejection.
Green was tossed in the third quarter of the team’s game against the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday, getting two quick technicals while arguing a shooting foul. The Warriors went on to lose a heartbreaker, putting their playoff seeding at risk and leading to some heavy criticism of the decision to eject Green.
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The sequence that led to Green’s ejection started with just under seven minutes to play in the third quarter. Green was initially whistled after contesting a shot from San Antonio’s Devin Vassell, then hit with a technical while arguing over the call with referee Marat Kogut.
Green continued talking to Kogut as teammate Andrew Wiggins went to the line to shoot free throws, leading to a second whistle and the first ejection of the season for the notoriously vocal and outspoken Warriors big man.
Draymond has been ejected from tonight’s game after receiving his second technical foul
Kerr said after the game that he didn’t believe Green’s actions warranted a second technical foul and an ejection.
“Marat [Kogut] just felt like Draymond didn’t stop complaining but Draymond has never stopped complaining his whole career. We know that,” Kerr said, via SI.com’s Inside the Warriors. “He’s earned what he’s done in this league. Draymond knows how to walk that line. Once he gets that first one, he understands what it takes to get a second one.”
As Inside the Warriors noted, Green’s teammates also seemed perplexed by the ejection. Jordan Poole shrugged when asked if he knew why Green earned the second technical. Otto Porter Jr., who was on the court at the time, looked shocked at the call as well and a heated Green continued to jaw at Kogut as he made his way to the locker room.
Kerr made it clear that he believed it was the wrong call.
“He can’t get kicked out of that game,” he said. “And he did not think he deserved it.”
Warriors Lose Costly Game
Without Green on the floor, the Warriors suffered a shocking last-second loss. The Warriors took a 108-107 lead after an Andrew Wiggins free throw with 3.6 seconds remaining, but Wiggins missed the second free throw and Warriors center Kevon Looney was whistled for a questionable foul on the Spurs’ Jakob Poeltl.
Poeltl made his first free throw but missed the second, though San Antonio’s Keldon Johnson came down with the rebound and made the game-winning layup with 0.3 seconds remaining.
So … what happened in the game’s final seconds?
The Postgame Live crew breaks it down ⤵️
With the loss, the Warriors saw their grip on the No. 3 seed loosen a bit. The No. 4 Utah Jazz, winners of four straight, are now just two games behind the Warriors. Golden State could face an uphill battle the rest of the way, with Steph Curry out indefinitely with an injured foot and second-year center James Wiseman’s season in doubt after he experienced new swelling in his right knee.
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Warriors Furious Over Draymond Green’s Controversial Ejection