In the third quarter of the Warriors’ 134-120 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday, Draymond Green became irate with the officials at Crypto.com Arena after they failed to call a foul.
Warriors star Steph Curry was by Green’s side, trying to keep things under control and encourage his friend. But he ended up accomplishing far more. Curry not only observed the exchange between Green and referee Jason Goldenberg, but he intervened on Green’s behalf to defuse the situation.
“Yeah, it was cool. Steph was standing there, which was great because he heard how the referee talked to me,” Green said postgame of the incident. “And he went immediately from talking to me to like, ‘Yo, you can’t talk to him like that.’ And I think that’s the wackest part about it. You can say and speak to me however you feel but if I say something back, it’s a tech? That’s wack to me.
“You miss a call, the guy clubbed me across the face, and then you’re like, ‘I don’t want to talk to you, get out of my face.’ Like who are you? You don’t get to just not talk. You missed the call. You can’t get mad because you missed the call.”
Green was talking about a play that happened early in the second half when Austin Reaves, a guard for the Lakers, drove to the hoop and elbowed Green in the face as he was placing the ball into the basket, cutting Los Angeles’ lead to six points.
Green went to the ground right away and took some time to get up before the Warriors signaled a timeout, which allowed him to approach Goldenberg and present his case.
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“It’s a little crazy, but I appreciate the guys being there because it’s a bit frustrating,” Green continued. “Austin gashed his elbow hitting me in the teeth, and it’s no foul? I get hit in the face every single game and I get no foul call. I hit somebody in the face and I get thrown under the jail. But when I get hit in the face, we don’t see it.
“I get hit in the face every single night! I’m not sure one time it’s been called. But I f–king blow my breath onto somebody and we’re reviewing it for a flagrant foul. I don’t get it, it’s crazy to me.”
Since his most recent 16-game suspension, Green has made an effort to maintain his composure and learn from his history; but, he also expects the officials to treat him with the same respect.
Curry stated after the game that he was there to help Green if necessary, but that Green is more than capable of handling things on his own.
“I’m not ever going to tell Draymond at that point — as long as he’s not stepping overboard — ‘don’t talk.’ But if there’s a moment where, ‘OK, you made yourself heard now let’s play basketball,’ and he did that to perfection.
“So, he doesn’t need a babysitter in that respect. Don’t get that twisted. I was just trying to read the room, read the situation.”
Ultimately, statements were made and hoops were hoops, particularly from the Warriors’ stars and Klay Thompson, the third core member. Together, the three scored 65 points and made 16 3-pointers in the crucial Western Conference matchup.
And Green hopes for a little more consistency from the officials as the Warriors battle it out for a postseason spot.