Draymond Green was forced to watch from home as the Warriors pulled away from a 114-97 Game 3 win over the Kings Thursday night at the Chase Center.
A day after the Warriors’ decisive win that trimmed their NBA first-round deficit to 2-1, Green used his podcast to share his thoughts on his one-game suspension for stepping on Dominas Sabonis’ chest in the midfield. Fourth quarter of the second game on Monday.
“I never knew you could be put on hold because of Flagrant 2 that happened seven years ago,” Green said on “The Draymond Green Show,” which was published Friday. “And I also didn’t know that you could get suspended for interacting with a crowd that turns you on and yells your name and exclaims that you suck, and wow, you interact with them. I didn’t know that either.
“Saying that, my buddies played well. My buddies played really well. They rose to the challenge and it was absolutely amazing to see. I hope everyone enjoyed the game the way I did… I can’t say I really enjoyed the game quite honestly.”
Green and Sabonis tangled with just over seven minutes remaining in Game 2, and after the stomping incident, Green engaged the Golden 1 Center crowd while the referees reviewed the play.
Green was eventually ejected from the match while Sabonis received a technical foul for grabbing Green’s leg before stomping.
Although it was rumored that Green would avoid further discipline, the NBA issued a one-game suspension, citing his history of non-sports actions.
This is the second time Green has been suspended for an NBA playoff game, following his infamous suspension for 2016’s NBA Finals Game 5 for striking then-Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James during Game 4.
“By the way, being suspended from a game, as it is at this point in my career, would never affect me from an emotional point of view, outside of my mates being in a dogfight, or in a dogfight, and I couldn’t get involved because you feel like you’re leaving them there,” Green said. themselves, leaving them astray, just to find out. So, for not participating in this fight, that’s what bothers me the most.
“For being suspended from Game 5 of the NBA Finals, there’s no other game in the NBA that you can be suspended from the game like, ‘Oh my God, I’m suspended.’ But just not being able to get in the fight with my brothers, that part is even worse.”
Without Green and Gary Payton II, who missed Game 3 due to illness, the Warriors bounced back to win by 17 points. Steve Curry led the way with 36 points, while Kevon Looney tallied 20 rebounds and had nine assists.
Green knows just how huge the Warriors’ Game 3 win is for their chances of advancing.
“I’m so grateful for the effort the players made yesterday to save our season,” said Green. “You never want to go down 3-0. The odds are good against you, stacked against you. Crazy if you go down 3-0. And the guys took care of that.”
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The four-time NBA All-Star will return to the Game 4 lineup Sunday at Chase Center, trying to help the Warriors even out a best-of-seven game series before returning to Sacramento for Game 5 Wednesday night.
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