It didn’t take Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green very long to cross the line on the court again.
Green was ejected from Tuesday night’s game against the Phoenix Suns after he struck Suns center Jusuf Nurkic in the head with his hand.
The incident occurred with 8:23 to go in the third quarter. Green was battling for position with Nurkic when he spun suddenly and popped Nurkic on the side of the head with enough force to drop the 7-foot center. Green was assessed a Flagrant Foul 2, which is handed out when it is determined a player made ‘unnecessary and excessive contact’ with an opponent. A Flagrant Foul 2 call results in an automatic ejection.
Tuesday night was just Green’s sixth game back since he served a five-game suspension for what the NBA called his ‘unsportsmanlike and dangerous’ actions when he put Rudy Gobert in a headlock during a scuffle between the Warriors and Timberwolves last month.
‘What’s going on with him? I don’t know. Personally I feel like that brother needed help,’ Nurkic said after the game. ‘I’m glad he not try to choke me,’ Nurkic cracked, but he added: ‘At the same time, ain’t nothing to do with basketball, man. I’m just out there trying to play basketball, he’s out there swinging. I think we saw that often. I hope he … whatever he got in his life, it gets better.’
Green maintained the hit was unintentional. Green said Nurkic was pulling his hip and that he swung his arms in an attempt to get a call.
‘As you know I’m not one to apologize for things I meant to do, but I do apologize to Jusuf … because I didn’t intend to hit him,’ Green said. ‘I sell calls with my arms. I don’t fall to sell the call, I’m not a flopper. So I was just selling the call.’
Green said he’d seen a replay, but said that replays are ‘never going to look good.’
‘I know my intentions and my intentions were to sell the call. But I also don’t think I’m an accurate enough puncher to do a full 360 and connect with someone. So, it’s unfortunate,’ Green said.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr said he hadn’t seen a replay of Green’s swing, so he declined to comment on it, but he did say Green needs to ‘find a way to keep his poise and be out there for his teammates.’
‘Draymond’s still a hell of a player, he’s still a really good player. So, we need him. If we’re going to be a really good team, we need him,’ Kerr said.