Kendra AndrewsESPN3 minutes of reading
SAN FRANCISCO — The NBA has suspended Golden State Warriors Forward Draymond Green To a game for treading on the kings chest Domantas SabonisThe league announced Tuesday night.
“This suspension is based on Green’s history of unsportsmanlike conduct,” the NBA said in a statement.
Green will serve his suspension Thursday when the Warriors host the Kings for Game 3 at Chase Center. Sacramento leads the series 2-0.
The incident between Green and Sabonis occurred with 7:03 left in the fourth quarter of the Kings’ 114-106 Game 2 win on Monday.
After Sabonis slipped and fell into the paint, he grabbed Green’s right leg. Green initially shook Sabonis’ grip, then took a hard blow to Sabonis’ chest.
Sabonis stood for a few minutes while the officials reviewed the play. He was called for a technical foul for grabbing Green’s leg, and Green was given a flagrant foul 2 that led to an automatic ejection.
“When I fell, I was protecting myself and then the incident happened,” Sabonis said after the game. It has no place in our game today.
Sabonis underwent X-rays on his sternum, which came back negative, and it appears he avoided injury, a source told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
“My leg got caught — the second time in two nights — and the umpire was watching. I had to land my leg somewhere, and I’m not a very flexible person, so it didn’t extend that far,” Green said. While explaining his side of the incident. “I can only step this far if someone pulls my leg.”
Green has been called for six flagrant fouls and 27 technical fouls in 147 career playoff games.
It’s the second time Green has been suspended during the playoffs. The other was in the 2016 NBA Finals, when Green hit a peak after he racked up several flagrant fouls in the playoffs that season. LeBron James In Game 4 after the two got stuck in the groin. Earlier in those playoffs, Green was ejected for kicking Oklahoma City Steven Adams In the lumbar region.
In 2018, the Warriors suspended Green without pay for one game “to the detriment of the team” following an altercation with a then-teammate. Kevin Durant.
Earlier this season, Green spent time away from the team after punching a Warriors guard Jordan Poole During training.