A suspended Draymond Green was forced to watch from home as the Warriors pulled out a 114-97 Game 3 win over the Kings on Thursday night at Chase Center.
A day after the Warriors’ crucial victory that cut their first-round NBA playoff series deficit to 2-1, Green used his podcast to share his thoughts on his one-game suspension for stomping on the chest of Kings center Domantas Sabonis midway through the fourth quarter of Game 2 on Monday.
“I never knew you could be suspended for a Flagrant 2 that happened seven years ago,” Green said on “The Draymond Green Show,” which was published Friday. “And I also didn’t know you could get suspended for interacting with a crowd that’s flipping you double birds and yelling your name and chants that you suck, and like, you interact with them. I didn’t know that either.
“In saying that, my guys played well. My guys played really well. Stepped up to the challenge and it was absolutely incredible to see. I hope everyone enjoyed the game in the way I … I can’t say I really enjoyed the game, quite frankly.”
Green and Sabonis got tangled up with just over seven minutes remaining in Game 2, and after the stomping incident, Green engaged with the Golden 1 Center crowd while the referees reviewed the play.
Green ultimately was ejected from the game while Sabonis received a technical foul for grabbing Green’s leg before the stomp.
Though there were rumors that Green would avoid further discipline, the NBA handed down a one-game suspension, citing his history of unsportsmanlike acts.
This is the second time Green has been suspended for an NBA playoff game, after his infamous 2016 NBA Finals Game 5 suspension for striking then-Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James during Game 4.
“By the way, being suspended from a game, like at this point in my career, will never affect me from an emotional standpoint, outside of my fellas was in a dogfight, or is in a dogfight, and just not being able to participate in that dogfight, that’s crushing,” Green said. “Because you feel like you’re leaving them out there by themselves, leaving them astray, to just figure it out. So to not participate in that dogfight, that’s what bothers me the most.
“To get suspended from Game 5 of the NBA Finals, there’s never another NBA game you can suspend me from that’ll be like ‘Oh my god, I’m suspended.’ But just not being able to participate in the dogfight with my brothers, that part is worse.”
Without Green and Gary Payton II, who missed Game 3 with an illness, the Warriors bounced back with a 17-point win. Steph Curry led the way with 36 points, while Kevon Looney grabbed 20 rebounds and dished out nine assists.
Green knows exactly how big the Warriors’ Game 3 win was for their chances of advancing.
“I’m very thankful of the effort that guys put out there yesterday to save our season,” Green said. “You don’t ever want to go down 3-0. The odds are well against you, stacked against you. Crazy if you go down 3-0. And guys took care of that.”
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The four-time NBA All-Star will be back in the lineup for Game 4 on Sunday at Chase Center, attempting to help the Warriors even the best-of-seven game series before it heads back to Sacramento for Game 5 on Wednesday night.
