Draymond Green wasn't happy with a non-call during the third quarter of the Warriors' 134-120 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night, so he expressed his frustrations with the officials at Crypto.com Arena.
By Green's side was Warriors superstar Steph Curry, who stood there intending to regulate things and support his teammate. But he wound up doing much more. Not only did Curry witness the interaction between Green and referee Jason Goldenberg, but he actually stepped in to defend Green before things escalated.
"Yeah, it was cool. Steph was standing there, which was great because he heard how the referee talked to me," Green said postgame of the incident. "And he went immediately from talking to me to like, 'Yo, you can't talk to him like that.' And I think that's the wackest part about it. You can say and speak to me however you feel but if I say something back, it's a tech? That's wack to me.
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"You miss a call, the guy clubbed me across the face, and then you're like, 'I don't want to talk to you, get out of my face.' Like who are you? You don't get to just not talk. You missed the call. You can't get mad because you missed the call."
The play Green was referring to came early in the second half when Lakers guard Austin Reaves drove to the basket and elbowed Green in the face while laying the ball into the basket to bring Los Angeles' deficit to six.
Green immediately fell to the floor and took some time getting up before the Warriors called a timeout, giving him some time to walk over to Goldenberg and make his case.
Golden State Warriors
"It's a little crazy, but I appreciate the guys being there because it's a bit frustrating," Green continued. "Austin gashed his elbow hitting me in the teeth, and it's no foul? I get hit in the face every single game and I get no foul call. I hit somebody in the face and I get thrown under the jail. But when I get hit in the face, we don't see it.
"I get hit in the face every single night! I'm not sure one time it's been called. But I f--king blow my breath onto somebody and we're reviewing it for a flagrant foul. I don't get it, it's crazy to me."
Green has tried to keep his composure and grow from his past incidents since his latest 16-game suspension, but as he's trying to be better, he expects the same respect from the officials.
After the game, Curry acknowledged that he stood by Green to diffuse the situation if need be, but made it clear that Green can handle his own.
"I'm not ever going to tell Draymond at that point -- as long as he's not stepping overboard -- 'don't talk.' But if there's a moment where, 'OK, you made yourself heard now let's play basketball,' and he did that to perfection.
"So, he doesn't need a babysitter in that respect. Don't get that twisted. I was just trying to read the room, read the situation."
In the end, words were said and basketball was played -- especially by the Warriors stars and the third member of their core, Klay Thompson. The trio combined for 65 points and 16 3-pointers in the pivotal Western Conference showdown.
And while the Warriors continue to fight for their postseason lives, Green hopes to get a little more consistency from the officials.
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