Draymond Green ejected from Warriors-Grizzlies game

MEMPHIS — Draymond Green was ejected Sunday late in the second quarter of Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals game against the Memphis Grizzlies.

Green was assessed a flagrant two foul after it appeared he pulled on the collar of Brandon Clarke as he went for a basket, dragging the Grizzlies forward to the ground. In a pool report after the game, crew chief Kane Fitzgerald told Damichael Cole of The Commercial Appeal that the contact “was considered unnecessary and excessive,” adding that Green made “significant contact” to Clarke’s face.

Green emphatically told coach Steve Kerr and officials that his hand got caught in Clarke’s jersey. Chants of “throw him out” erupted in FedEx Forum as officials reviewed the play, which was repeatedly broadcasted on the venue’s jumbotron.

Green was sent to the locker room with 1:18 remaining in the first half, but not before antagonizing the Memphis crowd, high-fiving several teammates on the bench and calling for more chants and boos from the Memphis crowd as he walked off the floor. He finished with six points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals in 17 minutes.

The other Warriors appeared to be stunned at the decision, with Kerr asking refs, “Are you [expletive] kidding me?” and Steph Curry looking on confused from behind Kerr.

Warriors react to Draymond Green’s ejection from Game 1 vs. Grizzlies for Flagrant Foul 2 pic.twitter.com/9BnbcAMv64

— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) May 1, 2022

Without Green, the Warriors stormed back in the second half and were able to hang on for a 117-116 win in Game 1, with Green coming out in his street clothes to the tunnel on the way to the locker room to celebrate with his team.

The win helped soften the blow of losing Green, but his ejection was still a major talking point after the game. Klay Thompson called the decision “unfortunate” and said the Warriors aren’t the same team without Green. Kerr’s only comment at his press conference was that he was “surprised” at the flagrant two decision, but he told NBC Sports Bay Area that the Warriors “were all angry. We thought it was a really tough call.”

Curry agreed: “You get a guy like Draymond heading to the locker room, nobody wants to see that. It’s not good for the game. I didn’t think it deserved that, obviously. Got a little emotional rise out of it, trying to stay locked in and deal with the circumstances and give ourselves a chance to win. We obviously did that in the second half, but that was a tough one.”

Steph Curry’s reaction to Draymond Green being ejected late in the first half pic.twitter.com/wrlGgq1Uyj

— Madeline Kenney (@madkenney) May 1, 2022

While the Warriors were surprised, it appears the Grizzlies weren’t. Clarke told reporters, “He’s been known for flagrant fouls in his career. I’ve watched him on TV my whole life, it feels like, so I wasn’t really shocked … It’s not shocking that he did that. It’s something that he’s done in the past.”

Green does, indeed, have a history of picking up technical and flagrant fouls, and he already has one technical during the playoffs. But he’s usually been more disciplined during the postseason, when the penalties for accumulating them can be reached quicker.

The NBA automatically suspends a player one game if they pick up seven technical fouls during the postseason (compared to 16 in the regular season). Green nearly hit the one-game suspension threshold in 2019, picking up his sixth technical foul of the 2019 postseason in Game 5 of the NBA Finals.

Green was previously suspended for Game 5 in the 2016 NBA Finals after picking up his fourth flagrant foul “point” of that year’s postseason. While not called during game action, the league declared Green made a “retaliatory swipe” at LeBron James and handed him a flagrant foul after the fact, incurring the suspension — and arguably turning the series momentum in Cleveland’s favor.

While Green had to watch that game from a luxury suite at an A’s game next door, he hasn’t missed a postseason game since that one.

But now, Green has been ejected in a postseason game for the first time in his career, which will only reignite the “Green flagrant foul watch” as the postseason progresses.

Staff writer Alex Simon contributed to this report.