Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green was ejected from the team’s 114-106 loss to the Sacramento Kings in Game 2 of their first-roud series for stomping on Domantas Sabonis’ chest after the Kings forward fell to the floor and grabbed Green’s leg.
“My leg got grabbed, second time in two nights,” Green said. “Refrees just watch it. I gotta land my foot somewhere, and I’m not the most flexible person so it’s not stretching that far. I can only step so far and pulling my leg away, so it is what it is.
“The explanation [from the officials for the ejection] was I stomped too hard.”
Early in the fourth quarter, Malik Monk missed a floater, and in the ensuing scramble for the rebound Sabonis was knocked to the floor. With bodies all around him, Sabonis, for some reason, grabbed Green’s leg as he turned to head the other way. That is obviously not allowed, but Green appeared to retaliate with more of a deliberate stomp, as opposed to just a step. As Green shook his leg free of Sabonis’ grasp, he then stomped right on his mid-section. Sabonis was issued a technical foul for his role in the incident.
As Sabonis stayed down, writhing in pain, the referees went to the monitor to review the situation. While that was happening, Green went into full wrestling heel mode. He was screaming at fans behind the Warriors’ bench and egging on the boos that were pouring down from all corners of the arena.
After a brief assessment, the refs issued a technical to Sabonis and a the Flagrant 2 foul, which is an automatic ejection, to Green. This was in fact the second altercation between the two players, who also got into a bizarre tussle at the end of Game 1, in which Green sat on Sabonis to prevent him from getting back into the play on the other end of the floor.
Despite whatever animosity may exist between the two players, Sabonis wasn’t feeding into the drama during his post-game interview on the court.
“It’s playoff basketball,” Sabonis said. “Look at the fans, this is it. We’re here to fight. Every time we step on the floor we’re gonna…
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