Draymond Green, known for his intensity, found himself in familiar territory on Wednesday night: ejected from a crucial game against the Magic in under four minutes.
The Warriors, battling to secure a spot in the Play-In tournament with just 11 games left in the NBA season, faced the Magic with a one-game lead over the Rockets for 10th place in the Western Conference.
Despite pulling off a 101-93 victory in Orlando, the Warriors had to make do largely without Green, who was ejected with 8:24 remaining in the first quarter.
So, what led to Green’s ejection? The sequence began in the first quarter when Orlando’s Paolo Banchero attacked the rim against Andrew Wiggins, drawing a foul for an and-one play.
Draymond Green ejected vs. Magic
Even though Green wasn’t directly involved, he took issue with the call. The All-Star forward confronted NBA official Ray Acosta, arguing vehemently. As teammates Stephen Curry and Chris Paul attempted to calm him down, Green received a quick technical foul.
However, Green didn’t let up. Continuing to dispute the call as he headed towards the bench, he earned a second technical foul from Acosta, resulting in his ejection from the game.
Addressing the incident on his podcast, “The Draymond Green Show,” on Thursday, Green admitted, “I deserved the ejection.”
Curry, visibly disappointed with Green’s early departure, had expressed his frustration on the court. The Warriors were already missing starting forward Jonathan Kuminga due to knee soreness, leaving them further depleted in a crucial matchup.
Despite the setback, Curry showed support for Green, embracing him as he headed to the locker room after the game.
Head coach Steve Kerr, while describing the ejection as “unfortunate,” did not contest the referees’ decision, stating, “He deserved it.” Kerr had recently praised Green’s growth throughout the season, indicating that the ejection wouldn’t tarnish his progress.
This incident marked Green’s ninth and 10th technical fouls of the season, placing him among the top 10 in the league. It was also his fourth ejection, leading the NBA in this regard.
Notably, this wasn’t the first time Green had been ejected in the first quarter of a game this season. A similar incident occurred back in November when he clashed with Timberwolves’ center Rudy Gobert.