Did Draymond Green deserve to be ejected?
Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green was ejected from a playoff game after stomping on the chest of Sacramento Kings forward Domantas Sabonis.
The play happened in the fourth quarter of the Kings’ 114-106 win in Game 2 of the first-round series Monday night after Stephen Curry grabbed a defensive rebound.
With the Warriors pushing the ball up court and Sabonis on the ground, Green took a hard step right on Sabonis’ chest. Sabonis stayed down for a a few minutes as the officials reviewed the play.
Sabonis is down after Draymond stepped on him. pic.twitter.com/6MwsNLT2Pj
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 18, 2023
Per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Sabonis had X-rays taken on his ribs and lungs, which returned negative and it appears he has avoided serious injury. Sabonis will undergo additional testing on Tuesday as a precautionary measure.
X-rays returned negative on Sabonis’ sternum and it appears he’s avoided injury, source tells ESPN. He will undergo additional testing on Tuesday as a precaution. https://t.co/7gmm172EG8
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) April 18, 2023
“My leg got grabbed,” said Green, referring to a play in Game 1 with Malik Monk. “Second time in two nights. Referees just watch it. I have to land my foot somewhere. I’m not the most flexible person, so it’s not stretching that far.”
Sabonis was called for a technical foul for grabbing Green’s leg and Green was given a flagrant-2 foul that led to an automatic ejection.
“We’re both fighting for the rebound,” Sabonis said in a postgame interview on TNT. “We fell on each other. Stuff happens. It’s basketball. We’ve got to move on to the next play.”
Kings coach Mike Brown said Sabonis was set to undergo X-rays to check on his ribs and lungs after the game.
“Obviously, we hope our brother is OK,” teammate De’Aaron Fox said. “We hope he’s not injured. Even just outside of basketball, to fracture a rib or puncture a lung, that’s a serious injury. So we just hope for the best right now.”
Domantas Sabonis talks about the incident with Draymond Green after the Kings' Game 2 win.
During the review, the fans in Sacramento yelled derogatory chants toward Green, who egged them on by waving his hands, holding a hand to his ear calling for louder cheers and standing on a chair.
“I was just having fun,” Green said. “It’s a fun game and fun atmosphere to play in. It’s fun.”
This isn’t the first playoff infraction for Green, who got suspended for one game during the 2016 Finals after accumulating too many flagrant fouls in the playoffs that season.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
