Draymond Green was ejected with 8:24 remaining in the first quarter of the Warriors' 101-93 win over the Orlando Magic on Wednesday night at Kia Center.
The Warriors forward argued with referee Ray Acosta after a foul was called on teammate Andrew Wiggins. Acosta assessed a technical foul to Green, who continued to argue, which earned him a second technical foul and an ejection, much to Steph Curry's dismay.
Crew chief Mitchell Ervin conducted a three-question Pool Report interview with the Orlando Sentinel's Jason Beede after the game, and explained why Green was thrown out so quickly.
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QUESTION: "Golden State’s Draymond Green was ejected at the 8:24 mark of the 1st quarter. Why did Green receive a second technical foul?"
ERVIN: "After a prolonged diatribe, Green directed egregious profane language towards a game official."
QUESTION: "The ejection came early in the game, less than four minutes in. Was the timing of the second technical foul considered at all before it was handed out?"
ERVIN: "No, his actions met the standard for a technical foul, which was his second technical foul, which results in an automatic ejection."
Golden State Warriors
QUESTION: Did the player’s history have any impact on the decision to hand him a technical foul and eject him?"
ERVIN: "Absolutely not."
Despite not having Green for most of the game and Jonathan Kuminga injured for the entire contest, the Warriors banded together and pulled out an impressive road win over the Magic, who now are 42-30 this season.
The 38-34 Warriors, who lead the Houston Rockets by one game for the final Western Conference play-in tournament spot, have 10 contests remaining to ensure they can hold on to it. To do that, though, Golden State will need its four-time NBA All-Star to control his emotions and remain on the court.