The Golden State Warriors pulled out a gritty 117-116 victory over the Grizzlies in Memphis to steal home court advantage despite Draymond Green getting ejected early after receiving a Flagrant 2 Foul call early.
For once, Draymond Green didn’t need to say much to make a statement.
The Warriors’ star forward was ejected in the second quarter of the Game 1 matchup of the Western Conference semifinals vs. the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday after the referees determined Green’s foul on Brandon Clarke was a Flagrant 2.
Green wasn’t happy with the call, and the rest of the NBA world weighed in on the questionable ejection.
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After the game, Clarke himself had some things to say about Green and his physical type of play.
“He’s been known for flagrant fouls in his career,” Clarke said to reporters after the game. “I’ve watched him on TV my whole life, it feels like. I wasn’t really shocked … It’s something he’s done in the past.”
It didn’t take long for Clarke’s comments to reach Green, who had an interesting but perfect response to the remarks.
The classic laughing emoji was probably the closest resemblance to Green’s actual face when he became aware of Clarke’s statement.
While Green’s direct response to Clarke’s comments only needed emojis, the three-time NBA champ had plenty to say about the ejection in an emergency session of his podcast, which was posted immediately after Sunday’s game.
"Now lets talk about what everyone's really here for, what everyone wants to talk about, which is me getting ejected for ... I'm not quite sure for what, but for a foul," Green said on “The Draymond Green Show”. "Very interesting one. You know, one thing about the foul is, I actually tried to hold [Brandon Clarke] up and well, I wasn't told anything because I left the court, but guys were told I was ejected for throwing him down, which is very interesting because even when he hit the ground, I still was holding his jersey up. But at this point, I kind of expect things like that, like I've been suspended from Game 5 of the NBA Finals. You think for one second I don't believe I would get kicked out of Game 1 of the second round? Not surprising to me at all. Not one bit."
Green went on about getting tossed, saying he believes it was a reputational thing.
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While words were exchanged back-and-forth regarding the matter, it will probably be less talk and more action come Tuesday as the two teams face off in Game 2.
